Misguided Adventures
by ohlookitstamara
Summary: This is a story about a girl named Jane Hensworth.
1. Prologue

**A/N: please note that this is not a love story right now but could turn into one.**

* * *

Prologue:

It was weird. Too weird. Things like this didn't just happen. It had to be some freaks playing a prank on her. At any moment, someone was going to jump out from somewhere and yell, "GOTCHA!"

It was all just too much for little eleven-year-old Jane Hensworth to comprehend. Witches and wizards didn't exist. Magic didn't exist. But around a month ago, two very strangely dressed people came knocking on her door and told her that she, of all people, was a witch.

She and her parents were shocked to say the least, but her mum told her that she always knew that she was special, and that made Jane smile. Mostly because her mum was doing good. She had been worried that her going away for the school year might make her mum bad again, but she seemed really happy. And for those moments when she was with her, Jane thought that maybe her mum wouldn't have anymore bad spells and that she'd stay happy this time.

Jane looked at all the stuff that she'd managed to cram into her suitcase and vaguely wondered how she was going to get it closed. From the floor below, there was a faint knock followed by the sound of footsteps and a door being opened.

"Janie!" called Jane's mother. "Sarah's here!"

Jane frantically shut the suitcase (which held all her spell books and other freaky school stuff) as best as she could and shoved it under her bed. As much as she wanted to tell Sarah about Hogwarts, Jane knew she couldn't. The people that came before were very adamant about keeping it all a secret, which sucked because Sarah was her best friend, her only friend, and Jane didn't like keeping secrets from her.

Sarah had moved to the neighbourhood four summers ago only a couple houses down from Jane's. They became inseparable after that. Especially last summer when Sarah's dad left, and it seemed like she was always at Jane's. Jane was kind of worried that summer because her mum was doing bad again, but Sarah didn't judge.

They talked to each other about their problems and how sometimes they wished they could fly away. In short, they were really close, and different schools or not, Jane intended to keep it that way.

"Jane!" Sarah squealed as she burst into Jane's room.

They hugged, and Jane laughed.

"You sound like you haven't seen me in forever. We saw each other yesterday, remember?" Jane said.

"Yeah, but you're going to be going to this new boarding school, and I won't see you until, like, Christmas!" Sarah half-whined.

"True," Jane replied.

Sarah dropped her bag and flopped down on Jane's bed and stared at the ceiling.

"How am I supposed to survive school without you? You're my best friend! Seeing you on holiday isn't enough!"

"I know," Jane said. "I'm going to miss you a lot."

Sarah rolled over and propped herself up on her elbows to look at Jane.

"Don't go," she said.

Jane smiled sadly.

"I can't just back out now. It's kind of a done deal. Plus, my parents are making me." This was a lie, but she felt it was better than explaining why she really had to go.

"Who am I supposed to talk to?" Sarah asked.

"We can write letters," Jane said.

"Well, where am I supposed to send it? You haven't told me where this place is," Sarah said.

Jane thought for a second.

"You can give the letters to my parents, and they'll send them with what they send me. And you can pick my letters to you up from them," Jane proposed.

"Oh, alright," Sarah said. "But you have to promise to write at least once a week, no matter how busy you are!"

"I promise," Jane said. "Now, why don't we enjoy the rest of the summer we have together?"


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

Wednesday, September 1, Kings Cross Station:

After Jane had gotten over the shock that she had just walked through a wall, she decided that she needed to actually board the train before it left without her.

She was really nervous that she wouldn't know anything and that she'd look really stupid in class. She didn't have witches and wizards for parents like a lot of these other kids. Sure, she had read a lot of the material, but she didn't really know anything outside of the books.

Jane desperately tried to look for a compartment that was empty, but they all seemed full. She finally settled for a compartment with two other girls that looked about her age. They were already in their robes, and Jane vaguely wondered when she should change into hers.

Jane stared out the window as the train started to move. The other two were having a conversation, but she didn't pay much attention until one of the girls snapped her fingers in front of Jane's face (which Jane thought was insanely rude). Apparently they had been trying to get her attention.

"Did you hear me?" the finger snapper asked.

"Wha— oh, no. I'm sorry," Jane said.

"She asked if you knew what house you'd be in," the other girl said.

Jane didn't know much about Hogwarts, but from what she read in the books there were four houses. Unfortunately, all she could remember was Ravenpuff, or something, and that didn't seem quite right.

"No," she answered truthfully. "But they all seem really good."

The snappy girl scoffed.

"I hope you're not including Hufflepuff and Gryffindor in that statement."

The other girl turned to her, and eyed her.

"What's your name?"

Jane swallowed. She didn't like the look this girl was giving her.

"Hensworth. Jane Hensworth," she said quietly.

The snappy girl furrowed her brow.

"What house were your parents in?"

"Oh, um, they didn't go; they're nor—" Jane wanted to say 'normal,' but she didn't want to offend anyone. "They aren't magical."

"They're both Muggles?"

"What?"

"So, you're a Mudblood then," said one of the girls almost accusingly.

"I–I don't know—" Jane stammered.

"Mud. Blood," said one of the girls as though she were talking to an especially stupid dog. "It means you have dirty blood. You're not like us. Our families have went to Hogwarts for centuries."

"Yeah," said the other girl. "You shouldn't even be allowed to go there."

Tears began to sting Jane's eyes. The taunting continued until she was able to pull her luggage out of the compartment. She hadn't known that having non-magical parents was something to be ashamed of. Surely there were other people like her. All Jane knew was that she hadn't even gotten to school yet, and she was already having a tough time. She missed Sarah.

She walked down the train corridor, wiping her eyes a little. Suddenly, she heard a compartment door slam open. She turned to see a red haired girl stalking out of the compartment with a greasy haired boy in tow.

She heard laughter coming from the compartment and decided from how the girl had stormed out, that she didn't want to venture into there. She had already had one bad experience. But before Jane turned to keep walking, a boy with glasses poked his head out of the compartment (probably to see where the boy and girl had gone), and he spotted her.

"Hey, what're you doing out here?" he asked.

"I um, I couldn't—"

"Have you been crying?"

Jane swallowed hard.

"No," she said defensively.

"Come sit with us," he said, disappearing back into the compartment.

Jane hesitated briefly before deciding that nobody else was about to offer her a seat with them. She dragged her suitcase into the compartment and sat near the widow.

"I'm James Potter," said the boy with the glasses. "That's Sirius Black," he said, pointing to the handsome boy with dark hair.

"Jane Hensworth," she said shyly.

"It's your first year, too, right?" James asked.

Jane nodded.

"Cool. So what house do you wanna be in?"

Jane's heart sank a little. She might as well get it over with.

"I'm don't know," she said. "I'm a Mudblood," she mumbled.

Both boys stared at her in shock as though she had cursed at them.

"Don't say that word," James said. "Especially if you're talking about yourself."

"Well, that's what I am, isn't it?" Jane didn't really understand. "My parents aren't magic."

"You're parents are Muggles," James explained, "and you're a Muggle-born."

"Yeah, where'd you hear that word from?" Sirius asked.

Jane looked down and brushed her hair out of her eyes.

"Some girls called me that," Jane said.

James looked almost offended himself.

"Well, Sirius and I will teach you how to hex people so they won't mess with you," James said.

Jane's eyes got a little big. She didn't want to hex anybody. But at the same time, she was happy that James and Sirius weren't taking the mickey out of her for being what they called 'Muggle-born.'

"So, I shouldn't be ashamed that my parents are–are Muggles?" Jane asked, trying to use their terms.

Sirius shook his head.

"Nah. There are loads of students at Hogwarts that are Muggle-born, and they do just fine. And they probably work harder than the ones that aren't so they probably get good marks."

Jane let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness. I was worried that I might not be good at magic," Jane said.

"You'll do fine," James said. "There are just some people that think just because their parents are wizards means that they're above everyone else. I mean, I'm a Pureblood, and you don't see _me_ bragging about it all the time."

"Yeah, my mum's like that," Sirius said. "It's repulsive."

Jane smiled a little.

"Well, then what would she say if she saw you talking to me?"

Sirius smirked.

"Fall over dead, I expect."

"So, what house should I _want_ to be in?" Jane asked James.

"Well, it really depends on how you are. Like, if you're really smart, you'll probably be in Ravenclaw. I personally want to be in Gryffindor. That's where my dad was. It's for the brave."

"Yeah, and if you're pompous and big-headed, like all of my family have been, you'll probably be in Slytherin," Sirius said sullenly.

"Will your mum be mad if you're not in Slytherin?" Jane asked.

Sirius chuckled.

"Are you kidding? She might send me to Durmstrang."

James laughed with Sirius, and Jane smiled even though she had no clue what a Durmstrang was.

"But like I said earlier, I might be the only one in the Black family to not be in Slytherin. I really hope so," Sirius said.

"Me, too," James said.

The trio talked on for hours. Mostly it was just James and Sirius explaining to Jane about houses and Quidditch, but they all seemed to enjoy each other's company.

They changed into their robes and arrived at the school when it was dark outside. They all three climbed into a boat with a boy, named Remus, who looked rather sickly, but he was really nice.

Jane stared at the castle in awe as they crossed the inky lake. It sparkled and glittered in the reflection of the water which made the scene twice as beautiful. Breathtaking even.

"It's beautiful," she said, more to herself than to the boys, but they all agreed anyway.

After that, there was a lot of pushing and trying to keep up with James and Sirius in the crowd of other first years. James finally grabbed onto Jane's wrist so that she wouldn't get lost in the miniature sea of people.

Once they were in the Great Hall, with all the other students staring them down, James, Sirius, Remus, and Jane managed to push their way to the front of the crowd. Jane looked up at the old hat that sat on a stool in front of them. Then, the roll began to be called.

Even though she had read about the sorting ceremony in her books, Jane was still really excited about seeing a talking hat. Of course, she tried not to look too eager; she tried to be cool about it.

Jane watched as a few people were sorted into different houses. Then, it was Sirius' turn.

"Good luck," Jane said before he walked forward. She hoped, from what James and Sirius had said, that he wouldn't be put into Slytherin. The whole house seemed awful. Luckily, the hat shouted out "_Gryffindor!_"

"Phew," Jane heard James tell Remus, "I thought I was going to have to be friends with a Slytherin there for a while."

Jane got worried for a second.

"You don't think I'll be put in Slytherin, do you?" she asked James.

He chuckled.

"Nah, you're too nice."

Jane relaxed a little. Finally, she saw the red haired girl from the train (her name was Lily). She was also sorted into Gryffindor. The two girls that had made fun of her were put into Slytherin. She told this to James, and he said that it wasn't a coincidence. Then, it was her turn.

"Hensworth, Jane," the witch in emerald called.

James nudged Jane forward a bit when he realised that she wasn't moving. When she sat on the stool, she caught a glimpse of Sirius giving her the thumbs up. She smiled a bit and felt a little more confident.

It felt like the hat was on her head for an eternity. Luckily, she couldn't see anything but the inside of the hat. Finally, it shouted out "_Gryffindor!_" and she joined Sirius and the red haired girl at the Gryffindor table. The girl seemed to be ignoring Sirius, so Jane sat between them.

"You looked so nervous," Sirius teased. "I could see you shaking from all the way down here."

"Shut up," Jane said, pushing him playfully as she blushed. She had been shaking quite a bit.

"I'm glad we're in the same house," Sirius said.

Jane looked at him and smiled, finally feeling that she had found a friend in Sirius (and probably James as well).

"Me, too."

They watched as Remus was sorted into Gryffindor along with a mousy boy named Peter, who seemed okay. Then James was sorted there, too. After that, Jane stopped paying close attention. But she was paying enough attention to know that the boy Lily had been with on the train was sorted into Slytherin. Jane didn't really know what that meant, but she kind of felt bad for Lily.

After the feast was over, and Jane had made friends with Remus and Peter, they all headed up to the Gryffindor common room. It was really nice.

"So, are we going to have classes together?" Jane asked the boys.

"Yeah," Remus said, "you always have class with your house until we get to pick electives and things, but you don't have to worry about that until third year."

"Oh, okay good," she said. "Well, I better go write Sarah; she'll be dying to hear from me. Goodnight."

"Goodnight," they all said simultaneously.

And with that, Jane rushed up the stairs and into the room labeled, _First Year Girls_. She quickly found her things and flopped down on the bed that they were beside. She let out a squeal of excitement.

"Are you okay?" asked a girl with black hair.

"Yeah," Jane said, "I'm just excited is all. I'm a Muggle-born, and everything is just so different now."

"You're a Muggle-born?"

Jane looked around to see Lily and nodded.

"Me, too," Lily said, looking relieved to have found someone else like her.

Jane got to know her roommates (she had four in all). First, there was Lily, who was Muggle-born like her. She was really nice and reminded Jane a bit of Sarah. Next, there was Alice. She was a Pureblood, but she didn't mind that Jane and Lily were Muggle-born, in fact she seemed to find it fascinating. Then, there was Marlene and Mary, who were both half-bloods. They seemed really nice as well. Marlene even told Jane how to send her letters by owl and said that she'd help her send her letter to her friend.

Jane pulled out some ink, a quill, and some parchment and began on her letters. The first was to her parents, telling them that she'd gotten there safely and everything. Then, she wrote one to Sarah.

_Dear Sarah,_

_I miss you so much. I wish you could be here with me. I can't wait till Christmas. My classes start tomorrow, and I'm so nervous. Oh, and two girls made fun of me today. Can you believe that? Classes haven't even started , and I'm already getting picked on! But on the bright side, I met some really nice people, too. And my dorm mates (I have four. FOUR!) are really nice, too. You'd really like this one girl. Her name's Lily. She reminds me of you, but don't worry. You're still my best friend, and it'll always be that way!_

_Your besest friend,_

_Jane_

After that, Marlene sent the letters out with her owl, Chauncey, and they all decided to get some rest before their first day of class.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

The next morning, Jane awoke before the rest of the girls and started to get ready. She ran down to the common room and waited a bit, to see if James, Sirius, and Remus were going to be down soon. After a while, Lily came down from the dorm.

"You coming to breakfast?" she asked.

"Yeah," she said, "I'll meet you down there, okay?"

Jane waited a few more minutes before thinking that maybe she missed them. So, she trailed behind a few fourth years until she got to the Great Hall.

Almost as soon as she walked into the hall, Professor McGonagall handed Jane her class schedule. Jane looked down at her schedule. Before she knew it, someone had run into her, and she almost fell over.

"Well, what's this?" came a jeering voice.

Jane turned to see a few Slytherin first year boys, one of them being Lily's friend, Severus.

"What? Muggles don't know that you aren't supposed to stand in doorways?" the boy that ran into Jane said.

Jane shook her head and turned to sit at the Gryffindor table, but the boy snatched her schedule away from her. He made a disparaging noise.

"I can't believe we have to have classes with filth like _her_," he said.

"Give it back," Jane said, reaching for it.

"Oh, you want it back?" he teased, pulling it away from her reach.

Jane glared at him. He smirked and ripped the paper in half and threw it to the ground.

"Leave her alone, Avery."

Jane picked her torn schedule up from the floor and looked up to see who had come to her rescue.

"What's it to you, Potter? Why should you care for this filthy Mudbl–"

"Finish that sentence, and I'll hex you; I swear," Sirius said, wand in hand.

Avery didn't seem to like the idea of fighting with Sirius, and he and his group walked to the Slytherin table grumbling the entire way. Jane thought she heard the words 'blood traitor.'

"Are you alright?" Remus asked.

Jane nodded.

"I can't, however, say the same for my course schedule," Jane said, holding up the two pieces.

"Lemme see it," Sirius said.

Jane watched curiously as he tapped the paper with his wand and muttered "_reparo_." The two halves mended themselves back together.

"Here ya go," Sirius said, handing Jane's schedule back to her.

"Thanks, guys," Jane said as she sat down with them at the table.

"No problem," James said as he loaded his plate with food. "Nobody messes with our friends."

Jane smiled at the use of the word, and started to put some food on her plate.

"Sucks that our first class is with Slytherin," Sirius said.

"Yeah," James said, his mouth full of food, "I mean, ever'one knows Gryffin'or an' Slyt'erin 'ate each ot'er." He swallowed. "Whose bright idea was it to put us in classes together?"

"Maybe, they're trying to establish peace," Remus said rationally. "You know, trying to get us to like one another?"

"Well, I'd like the Slytherins a whole lot more if I never had to see or hear from them," James said, and Peter nodded his head in agreement.

"Is that _all_ you're eating?" Sirius asked as he looked down at Jane's toast and jam.

Jane looked down at it and back up at him. This is what she normally ate for breakfast.

"Yes."

"No wonder you're skin and bones," he jested. "You need to put some meat on your bones if you wanna play Quidditch for Gryffindor next year."

Jane looked up at him, puzzled.

"Oh, I–I'm not playing Quidditch. Who told you that?"

"Well, you said it sounded like fun and that you'd like to try it sometime," Sirius stated.

"Yeah, but I'm not trying out for the team!"

James perked up at this.

"Why not?"

"Well, I–I don't even know how to fly yet. I'm probably dreadful at it," Jane said.

"Well, you'll have _me_ to teach you," James said arrogantly, "so you'll be just fine by the time tryouts come around for next year."

"We'll see," she said, biting into her toast.

After breakfast, they went back up to the common room to get their books, and they set off to Potions.

"I hear Professor Slughorn's class is really tough," Peter piped up.

Jane looked at him, and then to James with a worried look on her face. James chuckled.

"Nah, you'll do fine. Just stick with me; I know what I'm doing," he said assuredly as they walked into the classroom.

"Jane!" someone called as she walked through the doorway. She turned to see Marlene waving to her. She pointed to the chair beside her. Jane watched as James and Sirius and Remus and Peter paired off together and decided that she could be Marlene's partner.

"Thank Merlin," Marlene said. "Mary and Alice are partners, and I didn't know anybody else."

Jane's brow furrowed as she set her books down.

"Where's Lily?"

"Oh," Marlene said. Then, she brought her voice down to a whisper as though divulging some great secret. "She's partners with that Slytherin boy over there."

Marlene pointed behind Jane. Jane looked over her shoulder to see Lily and Severus talking over their cauldrons.

"I can't believe she's friends with him," said Marlene in a rather pompous voice.

Jane shrugged. She didn't know what Lily saw in him either, but if he was nice to her, then who was to say the two couldn't be friends?


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

After Potions, Jane gathered her stuff and followed her classmates to Transfiguration. She walked with Marlene, but when Hufflepuff joined them, Marlene seemed to know one of the boys and decided to sit with him instead.

This didn't bother Jane. In fact, if possible, she'd rather sit with someone different in every class. Not only to get to know more people, but also to not feel like she was replacing Sarah with any one person. In public school, Jane and Sarah always sat together and were always partnered together on projects. She didn't want that with anyone else.

She sat at a table at the front, partially because she was short and partially because James and Sirius were at the table behind it.

Jane smiled as Lily sat down next to her.

"What'd you think about Potions?" Lily asked eagerly as she sat down. Jane could tell that Lily was excited to compare thoughts with another Muggle-born student. Jane smiled.

"I thought it was great. I'm a little scared that I won't be good at it though," Jane admitted. "I was never good at science."

Lily laughed.

"Yeah, it seems like a challenge. Severus said that he's pretty good at Potions though, so I think I'll be fine as long as he's my partner."

Jane nodded. She didn't know if Marlene was any good at Potions.

"Oooo," came the jeering voice of Sirius. "Snivellus is _good_ at something? I find that hard to believe."

Jane watched as Lily went red in the face.

"Stop calling him that!" she demanded.

James and Sirius laughed.

"I saw that you and him are Potions partners. Hasn't anyone told you that Slytherins and Gryffindors don't speak to each other?" James said.

"Well, that's stupid," Lily said, "and I can be friends with who I want."

Jane chuckled a little because Lily's face now matched the colour of her vibrant hair. Lily took the chuckle the wrong way, and Jane stopped abruptly.

"Guys, don't be so mean," Jane said over her shoulder to them.

"We're not being mean, Janie," Sirius said.

"Yeah, we're only having a bit of fun," James assured her.

"My mum's the only one that calls me Janie," Jane stated randomly.

Sirius pulled a piece of lent off of the shoulder of his robes and shrugged.

"Well, now I do, too," he said casually. And that was the end of that conversation.

By the end of that class, Jane had learned almost absolutely nothing. How was she supposed to concentrate when she had just watched her instructor turn into a cat and then back into a person?

"That was incredible!" Jane told Lily as they packed up their things and headed back to the common room.

"I know!" Lily exclaimed. "I can't wait to start using magic."

"Me either," Jane said.

And at lunch, she was still impressed. She couldn't stop asking questions as she sat with the boys.

"I'm sorry," she said after a while. "I'm probably getting on your nerves with all these questions."

"A little," Sirius said from across the table.

Remus rolled his eyes.

"Nah, you're Muggle-born. You're expected to ask a lot of questions, especially on your first day."

Jane smiled and then playfully stuck her tongue out at Sirius.

"What class do we have next?" Jane asked.

Peter pulled his folded schedule from his pocket.

"Double Charms with Ravenclaw," he answered.

"I wonder what that class is like," Jane thought aloud.

"Well, we're about to find out," Remus said, checking his watch.

Jane pushed her half-eaten plate away from her. She was too excited to eat.

"Well, I'm ready!" she said happily.

James pulled Remus' arm across the table and read the watch.

"Class doesn't start for fifteen minutes," he said.

"So?" Jane said.

"I'll walk you," Remus said as he stood up. "I'm done eating anyway."

"See ya in a few minutes," Sirius said to the two as they walked out of the Great Hall.

"You know what's weird?" Jane said as they walked down the corridors.

"What?" Remus asked.

"In my old school, I only had, like, one friend, but here, it's just so easy to make new friends. I don't understand why I couldn't do that at my old school," Jane said.

"Well, sometimes it's easier to start over. New school, new people, new opportunities," Remus said.

"I wish Sarah could've come here," Jane said.

"Sarah's your best friend, right?" Remus asked, trying to remember.

"Yep, ever since we were seven," Jane said proudly.

"It must suck having to keep this all a secret from her," Remus said.

Jane nodded thoughtfully.

"Yeah, well, I can still tell her the truth about some things. Like how it's a boarding school, or about the people I meet, or if the classes are hard or not. So, I don't really have to lie about much unless she asks specific questions like the name and why I have to go," Jane explained.

"It would be nice to be able to tell her _everything_ though," Jane added as an afterthought. "I don't think friends should keep secrets from each other."

Jane looked over at Remus.

"Are you okay, Remus?" she inquired.

"Yeah, why?"

Jane shrugged.

"You just look a bit peaky is all."

The rest of that day was kind of a blur. Remus had sat beside her in Charms, and he went to the library with her afterwards, and when they got back to the dorm, they helped each other on their Potions homework. And that night, Jane and Lily stayed up a little late, talking about what they liked best and what they liked least (least being having homework on the first day). And they talked about just how exciting everything was. And Jane had never been so happy in her life.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

The next day was Friday, and at breakfast during the morning post, Jane got two letters.

"Who's that from?" James asked nosily.

"My parents and Sarah," Jane said, ripping into Sarah's letter first.

_Dear Jane,_

_I wish I was there with you. I wouldn't let anybody pick on you. But it's good that your roommates are nice and that you're making friends. I can't wait till Christmas either. The first day of school for me was absolutely dreadful. Jessica McCune bleached her hair and got boobs over the summer, and now everyone thinks she soooo great, like her head wasn't big enough already. I hope your classes go better than mine did. And don't worry; I know you're not replacing me. You couldn't if you tried._

_Your bestest friend,_

_Sarah_

"Well, isn't that sweet," Sirius said, having read Sarah's letter over Jane's shoulder.

"Oh, quit being nosy," Jane said, tucking the letter back into its envelope.

She looked over to see that her other letter was already torn into. She pulled her parents' letter away from James, who had Remus and Peter huddled around him.

"You guys are infuriating," Jane said, but a smiled played at her lips as she read the letter.

"Ah, it was boring anyway," James said. "Just about how much they missed you and blah blah blah…"

He was right. It wasn't anything exciting. Jane crammed it back into its envelope and finished her toast and jam.

"Herbology sounds like it'll be fun," Jane said as they walked back to the common room. "Remus and I were talking to this Ravenclaw girl in Charms yesterday, and she said she had had it just before lunch and that it was fun."

"Ravenclaws think _everything_ to do with school is 'fun,' Janie," Sirius said. "They eat and breath school."

Jane laughed.

"Well, maybe it is," she said.

"Hey, you're friends with Evans, right?" James asked Jane.

Jane shrugged.

"I guess so. She's nice," Jane said. "Why do you ask?"

"I was just wondering what her deal was," he said.

"What do you mean?"

"I _mean_, why does she hang out with that freak?" James asked.

Jane shrugged.

"I think they were friends before Hogwarts. Maybe they grew up together," Jane said.

"Yeah, but he's so creepy, and she so…"

James didn't finish his sentence though. Jane looked at him in a puzzled way before going to grab her things from her dorm.

She ran back down the stairs and straight into Alice, who was talking to a second year boy that Jane didn't know.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Alice," Jane said.

"It's alright. Hey, Blake, this is Jane. She's one of my dorm mates. Jane, this is my brother."

Jane blushed. Blake was extremely cute.

"Nice to meet you," Jane said quietly.

"You, too. Well, I'll see ya, Alice. I gotta get to Potions. Bye, Jane," Blake said as he walked away.

"Bye," Jane replied, smiling.

Once Blake was out of earshot, Jane turned to Alice.

"You told us you had a brother, but you didn't say he was adorable!" Jane said.

Alice pulled a face.

"Ew! You think Blake's cute? Gross, Jane; that's my brother!"

Jane smiled.

"Oh, but he is! He's sexy!" Jane said teasingly.

Alice covered her ears.

"La la la! I'm not listening!" she said as she walked away.

Jane laughed at her. Just then, an arm dropped onto her shoulders.

"I thought I heard someone call me."

"No one said anything close to 'James,'" Jane said.

"No, I thought I heard 'sexy' and 'adorable,'" he said.

Jane rolled her eyes and pushed his arm off of her.

"Let's get to class," she said.

Herbology _was_ fun. Well, at least Jane loved it. They had class in one of the greenhouses, and they had stools instead of desks (but they mostly stood anyway). Jane stood between Sirius and Peter. Jane was always fascinated by plants, and Professor Sprout seemed really cool. Jane had even answered a question right (she had read it in the book), and Professor Sprout gave her five house points. It was definitely Jane's favourite class so far.

Herbology was by _far_ better than History of Magic. Jane got over the fact that the professor was a ghost almost immediately when he started straight into lecture. Marlene had to kick Jane's chair a few times when Jane dozed off. Luckily, it only met twice a week, instead of three like Transfiguration.

Jane was happy that she got Friday afternoons off, save for flying lessons. But they didn't start until the following week. She was nervous about it, especially when Sirius said that they had it with the Slytherins, but James assured her that it was easy.

"You just have to _feel_ it," he would say to her.

Of course, Jane had never been on a flying broomstick before and didn't know what James meant by 'it,' but she could tell from the look on his face, whenever he talked about flying, that he really enjoyed it. And for some reason, that made Jane a little less nervous. Who knew? Maybe she'd be a _great_ flyer?

After lunch was over, Marlene and Jane decided to go down to the Black Lake with the boys. Jane would've asked Lily to come, but Lily didn't seem to appreciate the company of James Potter and Sirius Black. Jane guessed she understood why though. People don't usually take too kindly to someone being mean to their friend.

Regardless, everybody else seemed to think they were great. They were rather funny and energetic. There was something about them that forced you to love them, even when they were being prats. Remus was like that, too, but he wasn't ever really a prat. He just sort of minded his own business.

Jane was starting to worry about Remus. The day before he had looked a little peaky, and now he looked worse, though she didn't voice this. She wondered if he was coming down with something, but every time Jane asked if he was okay, Remus said he felt just fine.

"Is it true that there's a giant squid in the lake?" Jane asked as they all sat down on the grass.

"Yeah," James said, leaning back on his elbows, "it's been here ever since my mum and dad went to school here."

"How old does it get?"

James shrugged.

"I don't know the life expectancy of giant squid," he said.

Jane laid down in the grass and looked up at the cloudy sky. She thought about how happy she was with her new life. No one here called her a freak (save for the Slytherins, but they were mean to everyone). The teachers were a lot nicer. Classes didn't start too early. She had wonderful dorm mates. She had found a class that she liked. She had her friends–

Jane immediately felt terrible. How could she be liking this place so much when Sarah wasn't even there? Sarah had said that her first day had been dreadful. And here Jane was, having a Friday afternoon off with all of these new people she had just met.

Jane shot up.

"Where are you going?" Marlene asked.

"Um, back to the dorm," she said (which wasn't a lie). "I need to get a started on that Charms homework," (also not a lie; she really did need to start on it).

"But we just got here," James said.

"I'm not asking you to come with me," Jane said as she walked away.

"I'll see you at dinner!" Marlene called after her.

"Uh, yeah, sure," Jane said.

She walked back up to the dorm alone. Unsurprisingly, she was the only one in there. Marlene was back at the lake. Lily was probably off with Severus. Jane had no clue where Alice and Mary were, but they were probably enjoying the afternoon off as well, along with the rest of the first year students.

Jane sighed and fell back onto her bed. She just stared at the canopy for a while. Why couldn't Sarah be a witch, too? No, better yet, why did Jane have to be one?

Jane suddenly felt an overwhelming responsibility. It was her fault that her and Sarah weren't together anymore. And now, she was being a lousy friend for having fun while Sarah was having 'dreadful' days at school. Jane got up, pulled out a piece of parchment and began to write to Sarah.

_Dear Sarah,_

_I miss you soooo much! _(Jane paused; she didn't know whether to lie, or to tell the truth) _Classes were dreadful here as well! They're giving us so much homework. I don't know how I'll get it all done on time. It's not fair! Ugh! I wish that I could come back to school with you. Then again, I might fail out and have to. Hope you're doing better than I am._

_Your besest friend,_

_Jane_

On one hand, Jane felt bad about lying. But on the other hand, she didn't want Sarah to think that she was having fun without her.

She quickly stuffed the paper into an envelope and looked around. She spotted Chauncey's empty cage beside Marlene's bed. Jane groaned. Marlene had said that the owls stayed in the Owlery, but Jane didn't know where that was.

She sighed and left the dorm anyway. She figured she'd probably run into a teacher and just ask them for directions.

She was about to leave through the portrait hole, but it swung open.

"Oh, hello, Jane."

"Hi, Blake."

She was about to walk past him, but stopped.

"Um, Blake, could you by chance show me where the Owlery is?" she asked.

"Well, I've got class in ten minutes, but I could tell you how to get there."

"Oh, all right. Sure," Jane said.

"Do you know where the West Wing's at?"

Jane shook her head.

"Okay, do you know where the library is?"

"Oh, yeah, Remus and I went there after Charms yesterday."

"Okay, well, the West Wing's between that and the Entrance Hall. It'll be the tower near there. Got it?"

"Yeah, thanks," Jane said.

"No problem. See ya around," Blake said before rushing up to his dorm to get his books.

Jane didn't have to ask for anymore directions after that. She made it to the Owlery just fine which made her very proud of herself.

She used one of the school's owls. She sent it to her house, even though the envelope was addressed to Sarah. She couldn't very well send a delivery owl to Sarah's house. How on earth would she explain that to her?

Jane watched the bird fly away until she couldn't see it anymore. She sighed. She really did miss her best friend.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

The next couple of months was marked by flying lessons, letters, Sirius and Sarah's birthdays, and hours in the library with Remus and/or Lily.

As it turned out, Jane was a rather fair flyer. And when the first Quidditch match of the year rolled around, and Gryffindor beat Slytherin, James and Sirius had practically talked her into trying out for the house team with them during the subsequent year.

Remus got sick about four times before the holidays. Jane chalked it up to a bad immune system.

Jane didn't get to write to Sarah as much as she would've liked; school and her new friends kept her pretty busy, but she still continued to write. She had to find a way to tell Sarah about school without tipping her off that something weird was happening. Jane learned to substitute words like 'Potions' and 'Quidditch' with normal words, like 'Science' and 'football.'

It was now the nineteenth of December, and Jane was on the train ride home, sharing a compartment with Remus, James, and Peter.

"I can't believe Sirius is actually staying at school for the holidays," James said.

"I can," Jane said. "Have you heard the way he talks about his family? They sound like dreadful people."

"Yeah, but still," James said, "no one should have to stay at school over break. I'll ask my mum and dad if he can stay over Easter holidays."

"I can't wait to see Sarah. She's going to be so excited," Jane said.

"I feel bad for you," James said.

"Why?"

"Because you can't use magic outside of school," he stated.

"Well, neither can you," Jane said.

"Well, if I use magic, they won't be able to tell because I live in an all wizarding household. You live with Muggles, so they'll know it's you if you do it," James said.

Jane shrugged.

"Who needs magic when you've got your best friend?"

James scoffed and feigned hurt.

"And here I though _we_ were your best friends!"

Jane smiled and rolled her eyes.

"You guys are my best _school_ friends. Sarah's been my best friend for years," Jane said.

"I heard Snivellus was going to stay at school for the holidays until he found out Evans wasn't," James said.

Peter laughed.

"What is it, James? Jealous that he lives near her?" Jane asked teasingly.

James made a disparaging noise.

"What? I— of course not!" he stammered in response."Who in their right mind would be jealous of _Snivellus_?"

"Relax, James. I was only joking," Jane said, smirking.

James leaned back into his seat.

"I know that," he said.

The rest of the train ride consisted of a lot of napping on Jane's behalf, her head resting on Remus' lap.

"Jane, wake up!" boomed James' voice from somewhere very close to her ear canal.

"Ow!" Jane exclaimed, cupping her hand over her ear.

She sat up and opened her sleepy eyes to glare at James. He only smirked.

"It's time to get off the train," he said.

Remus helped Jane pull her suitcase down from the luggage rack, and they hopped off the train and onto the platform.

Jane looked around. Remus must've thought that she was looking for her parents.

"You're parent's are probably outside the barrier," he said. "Muggles can't get in unless they have a witch or wizard with them."

"I didn't know Muggles could get in at all, to be perfectly honest," Jane admitted. "My mum and dad dropped me off outside the barrier. We didn't know they could come in with me."

"Well, I'll see you guys later," Remus said as he walked off to his parents.

Peter found his parents next. And then James.

Then, Jane decided to go find her mum on the other side of the barrier. When she got over there, however, her mum was nowhere in sight. So she waited. And she waited. And she waited…

She put her hands on her hips and decided to walk back onto the platform, just to make sure, even though she knew what Remus had told her.

"Jane?"

She turned to see James with his mum and dad.

"What you doing back here?" he asked.

"Never left," she said. "Can't find my mum. What are you still doing here?"

James rolled his eyes.

"My mum likes to socialise," he said.

And as if she had sensed that James was talking about her, James' mother walked over.

"Who's your friend, darling?"

"Jane Hensworth," he answered.

"Oh, what a beautiful name," his mother said. "I'm James' mother. Are your parents around?"

"Um, no ma'am. My parents are Muggles. My mum's probably stuck in traffic…"

"Oh, well you won't find them on the platform, darling," Mrs. Potter said. "Here, I'll go help you find them."

"That's really nice, but–"

"Save it," James interrupted. "She's already gone."

And he was right. Mrs. Potter had already slipped through the barrier. James sighed as he and Jane followed her.

"Now, who am I looking for, dear?" Mrs. Potter asked.

"Oh, my mum. My dad's away on business; he doesn't get back until tomorrow."

They looked for Jane's mother for what felt like forever.

"You guys really don't have to stay. I'm sure she's almost here," Jane said after a while.

"And leave you here by yourself?" Mrs. Potter exclaimed. "Absolutely not!"

James groaned into his hands.

They waited for a little while longer until,

"Jane!"

Jane turned to see a streak of blonde hurtling towards her.

"Sarah!" Jane exclaimed as she was almost tackled to the ground.

"Did you come with my mum?" Jane asked, but when she looked up, she saw Sarah's mum instead.

"Hi, Ms. Camden."

"Hello, Jane."

Sarah looked at Jane knowingly.

"Your mum couldn't make it. She asked us to come get you," Sarah said.

"Did she really ask or did you have to go ask her why she hadn't left yet?" Jane whispered so only Sarah could here.

Sarah nodded a bit. Jane swallowed and held her head up.

"Sarah, this is James," Jane said. "James, Sarah."

"Hello," Sarah said.

James waved.

"Jane talks about you all the time," he said.

Jane was glad he said this because Sarah seemed to brighten a lot when he did.

"Well, we better go. Thanks for waiting with me, Mrs. Potter," Jane said.

"Oh, it was no problem, dear," she said. "I love meeting James' friends."

"Bye, James."

"Bye."

Sarah's mother picked up Jane's suitcase, and they headed for the car.

"You never said he was cute in any of your letters," Sarah said as they got into the car.

"Who? James? Oh, please don't ever tell him that. His head's big enough already," Jane said, laughing a bit.

Then, she stopped smiling and looked at Sarah.

"So, what happened?" Jane asked quietly.

Sarah shrugged.

"I mean, I know your dad's away on business and everything, but last Saturday when I gave her my letter, she seemed fine."

Jane didn't say anything.

"So, today I kept looking to see if she had gone to get you yet, and it was getting pretty late, so I went in your house, and she was lying there on the couch. I woke her up, and she asked if my mum could come and get you, that she wasn't feeling well," Sarah said.

Jane only nodded. She hated when her mum had her bad spells.

"But she–she was doing so much better. I thought that maybe— I don't know," Jane said.

"Mum says you can stay with us tonight if you want," Sarah said.

Jane shook her head.

"I don't want to leave her there alone, ya know?"

Sarah nodded.

"D'you think, she'll ever get better, I mean, like _really_ better?" Jane asked.

"I'm sure she will," Sarah said, but Jane could tell that she didn't really believe it. Jane's mum had been like this for what felt like forever; she probably wasn't ever going to get better completely.

So, that night Sarah stayed with Jane. When Jane got home, her mother at least got up to give her a hug. Jane could tell she hadn't showered. Then, her mum went up to her room and closed the door. And that door stayed shut for almost the whole of the Christmas holidays.

Once Jane's dad got back home on the twentieth, Jane stayed at Sarah's as much as possible. She hated being in the house when her mom was like this. It was like living with a ghost almost. You knew she was there, could feel her sad energy, but you never saw her or heard from her. So, Jane sufficed with helping Sarah and her mum decorate and also complaining about John (Ms. Camden's boyfriend) with Sarah.

It wasn't until a few days after Christmas that Jane's mum pulled out of her latest episode. It was like a switch almost whenever she did this, like she was a completely different person. She was very happy and full of all this energy.

And everything seemed alright again.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

On the second day of January, Jane said goodbye to Sarah and headed back to King's Cross with her parents.

"My friend, Remus, says that you can walk in, too, because you're with me. Do want to?" Jane asked her parents excitedly.

Her dad looked a little unsure, but her mum almost jumped for joy.

"Well then, let's go!" her mum said.

After they were on the platform, her dad kept looking back at the barrier as though it weren't a real wall, and if they were being technical, Jane guessed that it wasn't.

"Oh, look James! There's your little friend!"

Jane turned around at the sound of Mrs. Potter's voice.

"Mum!" James said, obviously embarrassed.

"Hi, Mrs. Potter," Jane said politely. "Mum, Dad, this is James and his mum."

"Oh, it's so nice to meet you," Mrs. Potter said, shaking Jane's mum's hand.

James tugged on Jane's sleeve.

"Mum, James and I are going to get on the train now," Jane said.

"Have fun, dear. I love you!"

"Love you, too, Mum!" Jane called as James practically dragged her onto the train.

"Come on. I think Remus and Peter are already on here," he said.

Sure enough, they found Remus and Peter in a compartment by themselves. Remus had his nose buried in a book, as was usual with him. Peter was anxiously awaiting James' arrival, as was usual with him, which Jane thought a little sad somewhat weird.

"Well, I had a nice holiday," James said sitting beside Remus. "What about you three?"

"Mine was good," Remus said, closing his book.

Jane thought about her mum. She wasn't about to tell them about that though.

"Mine, too," she said.

"How's your friend doing?" Remus asked.

Jane smiled.

"She said, and I quote, 'I'll _die_ if you leave again,' unquote. So, hopefully she's not actually dead."

They laughed, and then Peter went into detail about his holiday, which Jane tried to take interest in, but was having difficulties with.

James said that his parents had gotten him the newest Cleansweep for Christmas (James' family, like Sirius', was very well off), but him being a first year, he couldn't bring it to school.

"Mum and Dad said Sirius could stay over Easter though. I bet he'll be excited," James said.

Just then, Lily and Severus walked by their compartment. James flashed a wicked smile.

"Hey, guys, watch this."

They all stuck their heads out of the compartment, save for Remus, and James pointed his wand at Severus.

"_Locomotor Mortis,_" James said.

Jane watched as purple sparks shot out of James' wand and hit Severus. He fell to the ground, his legs stuck together. The three of them fell back into the compartment, laughing. Remus had his nose in his book again. Jane knew it was mean, but it was only a little prank. James and Sirius pranked loads of people. It was fun to watch.

Suddenly, a very flustered Lily was at the compartment door.

"You take it off of him, you–you insufferable toerag!" she screamed at James.

"Aw, come on, Evans, it's funny," James said.

"Take. It. Off," she said through clenched teeth.

James only smiled.

"Sorry, Evans. I don't know the countercurse."

"Oh! You–you're so–so immature!" she said before slamming the compartment door shut and stalking away.

"It was a little mean, James," Jane said, though she still had laughter in her voice.

He shrugged.

"Do you really know the countercurse?" Peter asked.

"Of course I do," he said arrogantly, leaning back into his seat.

When they got to Hogwarts, and up into the dorms, Lily wouldn't even look at Jane. Jane shrugged it off. This wasn't the first time this happened; she'd be over it by Transfiguration the next day.

"Have a good holiday?" Alice asked.

"Yeah," Jane and Marlene said. Lily only nodded.

Suddenly, Mary burst through the door holding a ball of white fur in her arms.

"Look what Mummy and Daddy got me!"

She held out the giant fluff ball to reveal a fat, white cat.

"His name is Henry."

"Isn't your brother's name Henry?" Alice asked.

"Yes. I did it so as to annoy him," Mary answered.

"You keep it away from my robes," Marlene said. "I don't want white fur all over them."

Mary rolled her eyes and sat Henry on her bed.

"Please, Marlene. Give it a rest. We can take lent off clothes like _that_," Mary said, snapping her fingers for effect.

"Yes, but _these_," Marlene pulled out her school robes, "are new."

Mary looked at them.

"I don't see what's so special about them," she remarked.

"They _happen_ to be imported from…"

"Oooo," Mary said, cutting her off. "Did you hear that guys? They're _imported_! Big deal, Marlene. They still look exactly like everyone else's."

Though what Mary was saying was true, Jane felt that she was taking things further than they needed to go. There was no reason to fight over Marlene's robes.

"Well, Mary, just because _your_ family can't _afford_–"

"Hey!" Jane said before Marlene could finish her sentence. "It's the first day back from break. Why are you two fighting? No one can make their friend mad at them _that_ quick."

Jane heard a disparaging noise come from where Lily stood. She turned to her.

"Do you have a problem?" she asked.

"No. It's just what you said isn't true. You _can_ make your friends mad at you that quick. _You've_ proven that," Lily said, though she sort of mumbled the last part.

"Oh, come off it, Lily," Jane said. "You'll be over it by tomorrow."

Lily looked affronted.

"No, I won't! You and Black and Potter are always messing with Sev! And I for one–"

"No," Jane corrected, "James and Sirius are the ones messing with him, _I_ just happen to be there."

"Well, it's not like you do anything to stop it."

"Oh, what was I supposed to do, Lily? The best I could've done was told him not to do it, and you know what? He would've done it anyway! So, don't get mad at _me_ just because _you_ can't take a stupid joke!"

"A joke?!" Lily demanded. "You think jinxing someone is _funny_?!"

"Look, all I'm saying is that it's not like Sniv–Snape got hurt or anything," Jane said.

Lily's face burned red.

"You were about to call him that stupid name!" Lily accused.

"So?" Jane said. "He's _your_ friend, not mine. You call James and Sirius names all the time."

"That's because they deserve it. They're nothing but bullies," Lily said.

Jane rolled her eyes and was about to retort when Alice butted in.

"Guys, seriously? Is this really _that_ important? Marlene, get over yourself. Mary, stop taking things so personal. Lily, Jane's right, you _will_ be over it by tomorrow. And Jane, James and Sirius _are_ sometimes a little insufferable and admittedly like to bully people. Now, all of you just shut up!"

Though, the other four girls grumbled under their breaths, they heeded to Alice's command and did not say another word to each other.

Jane climbed into bed and pulled the curtains shut. She just wanted to get a good night's sleep.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

The next day was kind of a blur. Jane could tell that Lily _did_ really want to talk to her, but Lily was trying to prove to everyone that she _could_ in fact hold a grudge for more than a day.

This didn't really bother Jane; she knew Lily would forget to be mad at her at some point, and things would go back to normal between them. And even if Jane wanted to be bothered by it, she didn't have the time to be. The professors had given them so much homework, that Jane estimated that she'd finish it around the time she was twenty.

After their last class, Jane and Remus made their way to the library and began on their Transfiguration essays.

"I can't believe she wants two and a half feet!" Jane complained. "It's ridiculous!"

"You say that about all of McGonagalls essays, no matter _what_ length they are," Remus pointed out.

"Yes, well I just really hate essays. If I ever have to tell Sarah about Transfiguration, I'm referring to it as English class," Jane said.

Remus laughed. Suddenly, Jane dropped her quill.

"What is it?" Remus asked.

"Sarah. I told her that I'd write to her when I got to school. I forgot to last night!"

"Just write to her now," Remus suggested.

Jane pulled out a bare bit of parchment and began to write.

_Dear Sarah,_

_I'm so sorry that I didn't write last night. I was just really tired from the long train ride, and I forgot. But, I made it here safely. Lily's pretending to be mad at me, but she'll get over it. James played a little prank on her friend, and I thought it was funny. Apparently she didn't feel the same. How was your first day back? Did Sean miss you?_

_Your bestest friend,_

_Jane_

"Have you got an envelope?" she asked Remus.

"Who's Sean?" came a familiar voice from directly behind her.

Jane nearly jumped out of her seat.

"Sirius! Don't _do_ that!" she said, earning a shush from the librarian.

Sirius just laughed a bit and sat beside her. James and Peter joined them at the table.

"So, who's Sean?" Sirius asked again as Remus handed Jane an envelope.

"If you _must_ know, he's a boy that Sarah goes to school with. And she really likes him. I was supposed to meet him over holiday, but he and his family went to Wales or something," Jane said, remembering the boy that Sarah had so often mentioned in her letters the prior term.

"Well, that's just so sweet," James said teasingly.

"Hey, when are you two going to be done?" Sirius asked.

They were obviously bored and wanted Remus or Jane to join them, as though that would magically open up something fun to do. Or at least that was what Jane thought.

"Probably never," grumbled Jane, glaring at the books piled on the table as though they were the source of her homework problems.

Remus rolled his eyes at her. Jane _always_complained about homework. She was a good student, but that didn't stop her from complaining about school. It sometimes annoyed Lily and Remus to listen to her rant. She seemed oblivious to it though.

"This essay's due Wednesday," Remus said.

"So? Do it tomorrow, that's what we're doing," James said.

"If I put it off, I won't do it," Jane said.

"Look, if we do it tomorrow, we can all work together on it," Sirius said, trying to persuade them to stop their work.

Jane thought for a second and then looked at Remus. He shrugged.

"The _do_ have good marks in there," he said.

Jane knew that once Remus said that, they'd be getting no work done. It almost shocked her that Remus even agreed; he was usually so uptight about his school work. But what he had said was right. James and Sirius were the best students McGonagall probably ever had in her class (grade wise).

"Oh, alright," she said, rolling up her parchment. "But I'm going to the Owlery first."

"Oh, fine. But make it quick," Sirius said.

They set off for the Owlery. Jane almost slipped going up the stairs, but Remus and Peter caught her.

"Walk much, Hensworth?"

Jane glared at the boy who made the snide remark.

"Bugger off, Avery," Sirius said.

"What's your mum say about you being a blood traitor, Black? Or do you pretend not to be when you're at home?"

"I see you don't have your goons with you today," Jane said.

"And I see you don't know your place," Avery said as though Jane wasn't permitted to speak to him. "Maybe someone should teach you a lesson," he said threateningly, taking a step towards her, wand already in hand.

"_Expelliarmus!_" Remus said, and Avery's wand flew out of his hand.

Sirius caught it and threw it off the steps and onto the ground far below. Avery looked shocked as he ran down the stairs to retrieve his wand.

"Good luck finding it," Sirius called after him.

"Thanks, guys," Jane said.

"Oh, Janie, what would you do without us?" Sirius said.

"Probably get my essay done today," she said, walking into the tower.

"Oh, get over it," James said.

"Yeah," said Sirius, "we've got something to show you!"

Jane perked up at this.

"What is it?"

"A surprise, now hurry up; it's freezing!" James said, pulling his robes tighter around him.

"It's the middle of winter; where's your cloak?" Jane asked as she tied the letter to a barn owl.

James rolled his eyes.

"Well if you must know, _mum_, I left it in the dorm."

"Can we go now?" Sirius asked in a rather bored tone.

"Yes, yes, all right," Jane said as she sent the owl off.

Then, the five set out to see whatever it was that was so exciting.

"So, you know that painting of the fruit under the ground floor?" James asked Remus and Jane.

"No," they both said simultaneously.

"Near the Hufflepuff common room?"

"I've never even been to the Hufflepuff common room; why would I know where it is?" Jane asked.

James rolled his eyes.

"Anyway, we were walking down that corridor, ya know, just kind of roaming the castle, and Peter sort of ran into a suit of armour. And when he was trying to catch his balance, he sort of brushed up against the painting and guess what?"

"Oh, just tell us," Jane said.

"The pear laughed."

"It _laughed_?" Remus said.

"Yeah, and then it turned into a doorknob!" Peter said excitedly.

"Look, I don't know what kind of trick you're trying to pull—"

"It's not a joke," Sirius said, cutting Jane off. "It really happened."

Jane huffed at him.

"Anyway, you won't believe what's behind the painting," James said.

They walked down a flight of stairs and down a long corridor.

"There it is," Sirius said, pointing to the painting of a bowl of fruit.

Jane and Remus watched as James proceeded to tickle the pear. It acted precisely as James and Peter said it had, laughing and squirming before turning into a green doorknob. James opened the painting (which was also apparently a door).

"In ya go," Sirius said, pushing Jane and Remus forward.

Jane just stared in amazement for a while.

"We present to you, the kitchens!" James said.

"Wow!" was all Jane could say.

Food. Food was everywhere. And the smell was to die for. Jane's mouth was already watering.

"Hungry?" Sirius asked her and Remus. "What would you like? They'll bring you anything."

"Hmmm…how about—"

"Chocolate cake," Remus said before Jane could finish.

Almost instantly, a tray with an entire chocolate cake was being brought to him. The kitchens impressed Jane a lot, and she was almost sorry that she had delayed them with Sarah's letter.

The five of them, sat around, eating the chocolate cake and whatever else they craved until they were so full that Jane thought she might be sick.

Unsurprisingly, when dinner rolled around, they decided to skip. They sat in front of the fireplace. Remus sat in one of the armchairs, reading. Sirius sat in the other. And Jane was sprawled out on the couch with her feet propped up in Peter's lap and her head resting in James' as he absentmindedly played with a lock of her hair.

And that was how she fell asleep. Happy, cozy, and full of junk food.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

The crowd of people coming in from dinner woke her up that afternoon and she and the boys stayed there a bit longer before she decided that she was going to head up to bed early.

The next morning, Jane was awaken by Mary's cat, Henry.

"Ugh," Jane moaned, "get off, Henry."

She pushed the cat away and rolled over.

"Don't be mean to him," Mary said. "It's time to get up anyway."

Jane reluctantly sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She didn't want to go to class; she just wanted to sleep, but she rolled out of bed anyway.

She took a little longer getting ready than she usually did, even _Marlene_ got done before her, and that was saying something.

"Merlin! Could you have taken any _longer_?" Jane heard Sirius say as she met up with the boys in the common room.

She glared at him. He took a step back from her.

"Wow, you look terrible," James stated.

"Thanks, James. You're such a charmer," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Are you okay, Jane?" Remus asked.

Jane shrugged.

"I'm just tired is all. I think all that sugar from yesterday is making me a little slow."

"Well, let's go. I'm starving!" Sirius said.

"You're _always_ starving," Remus said, laughing.

The rest of the day was kind of slow. In Defense Against the Dark Arts, Professor Ashworth practically called Jane out for not paying attetion. In History of Magic, Marlene got tired of kicking Jane's seat, and just let her sleep. Which caused a lot of problems when Professor Binns decided to give them an essay due that coming Friday, and Jane had no notes. Luckily, Lily was talking to her again so she could always use Lily's notes.

At lunch time, Jane decided to skip and take a nap instead; she wasn't that hungry anyway. She could at least be rested up for Charms class, and luckily on Tuesdays, first years got last block off, so Jane only had to suffer through that one class. So, she walked up to Gryffindor Tower and curled up in her four-poster, falling asleep almost immediately.

After a while, Jane felt someone gently shaking her awake.

"Jane, wake up."

Jane stretched, yawned, and opened her sleepy eyes.

"You slept through Charms," Lily informed her.

Jane's eyes went wide. She had missed a class? That was her first time missing a class at Hogwarts. How could she be so stupid as to forget to set the alarm on her clock?

Jane shot up in her bed as though she could still make it to her already ended class. Lily filled her in on the things that she missed as they went down to the common room.

"_There_ you are," Jane heard James say.

Upon seeing Lily, James ruffled his already messy hair. Lily took no notice in this, but Jane rolled her eyes at him.

"Well, look at you," said Sirius, smirking, "skiving classes."

"No, I–I didn't do it on purpose," Jane said worriedly; she hadn't thought of it as skipping class.

"Relax, Janie," Sirius said, resting his elbow on Jane's shoulder. "I'm proud of you."

"I told you it was an accident," Jane mumbled as she shoved Sirius off of her.

He rolled his eyes.

"Accident or not, you still skived off," he told her.

"Here," Remus said, handing Jane two wrapped up sandwiches. "We thought you might be hungry."

Jane's stomach growled in response. Remus laughed.

"Thanks, guys," Jane said, unwrapping one of the sandwiches and biting into it.

"So, what do you guys want to do?" James asked, falling into a chair.

In all honesty, there was nothing _to_ do. It was too cold to go outside, and as much as Jane loved to roam about the castle, it did get boring sometimes. Their time would be better spent in the library in Jane's opinion (though she decided not to voice this).

So, they spent the time wondering parts of the castle that they had never been to. Every time they found a new room or corridor, Jane was reminded of the castle's enormousness. Five months at Hogwarts, and she still hadn't seen all of it.

"Someone needs to make a map of this place," Jane said as they turned down a dark corridor that she hasn't known existed.

And thus, an idea was born in the minds of Sirius and James.


	10. Chapter 9

**A/N: If you want more of the story, go to misguided-adventures-fanfiction .tumblr .com to see things such as Jane and Sarah's letters to each other through the school year and Jane's class schedule.**

**Also a reminder on the currency used in this chapter. I have done my research and in the year of 1972, five sickles and 13 knuts would have been equivalent to $20 USD in 2013. So no, Jane is not cheap or poor. **

* * *

Chapter 9:

At first the map was to be a birthday present for Jane, but James' was somewhat of a perfectionist when it came to projects. He wanted it precise, and Sirius, whose mind was the most creative, kept coming up with ideas that made the map unique. The more unique the map became, the more the boys wanted it for themselves, and why shouldn't they? They were working very hard on it.

Besides, by the time March the 18th rolled around, with Jane's birthday only five days away, they were nowhere near done with even the ground floor of the castle.

Since they weren't allowed into Hogsmeade until their third year, they were left without gifts, which did not suit James and Sirius very well. They were used to being able to buy presents for anybody they wanted, never mind the fact that Jane had already told everybody that she did not want presents seeing as how she had not been able to get anybody else anything other than handmade cards and around five sickles and a few knuts.

"Just make her a card," Remus said, having already made her one. "It's all she's excepting anyway."

They pretended as though they hadn't heard him. They were still upset at the fact that earlier on March 10th, they had been forced to give Remus cards instead of actual gifts, which he didn't mind in the least.

James saw, and treated Jane, as though she were his little sister, despite the fact that a) he was an only child, and b) Jane was older than him by exactly four days. But regardless, it's how he saw her, and he just didn't think that c) older brothers got their sisters cards, forgetting that d) Jane was an only child as well and wouldn't know if they did.

On the other hand, Sirius just thought that cards were boring. So, the four boys poured over ideas, though Remus and Peter had already made their cards, and came up with nothing.

So, they took to walking around aimlessly, having tired of trying to find gifts and working on the map for now. They were up on the fourth floor, revisiting the topic of why first years weren't allowed into Hogsmeade.

Having heard their conversation as they passed, a portrait of a wizard in a very funny looking purple hat followed them down the corridor, passing through different frames, upsetting the inhabitants.

"Pardon me, but I couldn't help but overhearing that you want to get into Hogsmeade? Is that correct?"

The boys stared at him.

"Well, I happen to know a few ways in," he said, sounding very impressed with himself.

This sparked their attention.

"Well, where are they?" Sirius demanded.

"Well, there's one passage on the third floor in the One-Eyed Witch statue; the Prewett twins use it all the time, but there's one on this floor as well."

So, the boys followed the wizard with the funny hat down the corridors of the fourth floor as he glided through different paintings, coming to a stop at a mirror.

* * *

The following Thursday, on Jane's twelfth birthday, after their Double Charms class, Remus told Jane to hurry and put away her things. When she walked back down from her dorm, she saw the boys waiting on her with stupid grins on their faces.

"Oh, do we've got a surprise for you!" Sirius said.

She looked at them warily.

"What kind of surprise?" she asked.

"Oh, you know, the surprising kind," James said draping his arm over her shoulders.

Jane looked at Remus, hoping that he would give her some inclination as to what this "surprising" surprise could be. But he just smiled at her.

"Sirius," James said, "the blindfold, if you will."

Sirius pulled out a dark piece of cloth. Jane ducked out from under James' arm and stepped away.

"Whoa, there! What d'ya need a blindfold for?"

"Oh, just put it on, will ya," Sirius said, rolling his eyes at her.

"Come on, Jane, don't ruin the surprise," James said.

Jane huffed, but allowed Sirius to tie the fabric around her eyes, rendering her sightless.

Jane didn't know where they were going, but she knew that they were taking her down flights of stairs, which she didn't find very comfortable. She kept pushing up the fabric so as to see where her feet were landing. This was instantly followed by one of the boys pushing the fabric back down over her eyes and promising that they would not let her trip (which was not so reassuring in Jane's mind).

Suddenly, they came to a stop, and though no one had instructed her to take off the blindfold, Jane lifted it up.

"What's so great about a big mirror?" she asked confused.

Sirius looked at her. He quickly shoved the blindfold back down over her eyes.

"Quit that!" he demanded. "We aren't there yet!"

She sighed in an exasperated manner and let the boys lead her into a considerably cooler corridor. Then, there were more downward stairs. Jane almost tripped three times, each time held up by James, before they reached the bottom of the stairs.

The ground felt different; it felt earth like. And it was still cold and now damp, as though they were underground. She didn't like that thought.

"Where are we at?" she demanded to know.

"We're almost there, Janie; would you _please_ be quiet?" Sirius asked; he was growing tired of her constant complaining and protesting.

So, she remained quiet, even when she almost broke her ankle as she stepped into a hole and fell. Remus helped her up, and she blindly brushed herself off.

After a while, they reached more steps, but this time Jane was being dragged upwards instead of downwards. They stopped. There was a loud creak, as though they were opening a door and they helped Jane climb up through a trap door, which proved difficult, seeing as how she still had the blindfold on.

Finally, after they had all climbed out (Jane heard the trapdoor being closed), James pulled off Jane's blindfold. They were in a dark, narrow alleyway, all crammed together.

"Happy birthday," they all said simultaneously.

She didn't get it.

"Where are we?"

They walked her out of the alleyway.

"We present to you, Hogsmeade Village," James said, smiling in triumph.

Jane looked in astonishment at the little thatched cottages and shops. Alice had told her about the village, she had been there once with her parents, but Jane had never seen it and didn't think that she would until her third year. And she fell in love with it.

"How did you—"

"Secret passage," Sirius said, cutting her off. "There's another one, too. Leads to Honeyduke's cellar. This one was easier to navigate with you blindfolded."

"Now, go on," James said. "Personally, Zonko's is my favourite."

Jane looked around at all the shops. Upon spotting Zonko's Joke Shop and peering into its windows, she instantly knew why it was James' favourite. They went in there first. James bought her a bag full of wizard gags and Filibuster Fireworks.

Next, Jane found her way into a shop called Spintwitches. It was a quidditch shop.

"That's the broom I've got," James said, pointing to the latest broomstick which was in the display window. Beside it was a sign that read: _New Cleansweep Four Broomsticks._

"They're saying they're even better than the Nimbus 1001s," James said.

"Reckon Nimbus will put out a new one soon if people are saying that," Sirius said.

Jane left them to discuss broomsticks as she walked around the shop. Quaffles were lined on shelves along with quidditch gloves. Golden snitches zoomed around in a large glass box. Shin and knee guards were hanging beside the quidditch robes, and beater's bats were on display beside a large, wriggling box that Jane guessed held bludgers.

Sirius walked over and picked up one of the bats.

"Gonna need one of these for next year," he told Jane, examining the bat. "I make a pretty fair beater."

She smiled at him and picked up a book off of a shelf. She flipped through the pages.

"Quidditch Through the Ages," Sirius said, reading the cover of the thick, green book she was holding. "Do you want that?" he asked.

"Of course she does," Remus said, leaning against the bookcase. "She loves reading."

And so, Sirius bought her the book. They explored a bit more, having butterbeers at the Three Broomsticks, looking at the books in Tomes and Scrolls. They even visited a Herbology shop called Dogweed and Deathcap, which the boys found rather boring, but said nothing due to the look of fascination on Jane's face when she had walked into the shop.

After a while, they headed back to the alleyway between Scrivenshaft's and Dervish and Banges and through the trap door. The boys were very content having given Jane what they knew to be her best birthday present thus far.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10:

Three days later, James, Jane, Remus, and Peter boarded the train for the Easter holidays, this time accompanied by Sirius who would spend his break at the Potters'. Jane said goodbye to her roommates as they all sat in different compartments.

As close as Jane was with her roommates (Lily and her being the closest), it was an unspoken thing between them that they all had other friends with whom they were closer. They would spend some free time together, but for the most part, they went their separate ways. Lily would go off with Severus Snape. Alice had some good friends in Ravenclaw. Mary and Marlene spent their time flirting with older boys. And Jane, well Jane had her four boys to keep up with.

"Wait until you fly it for the first time," James was telling Sirius, "it's absolutely amazing!"

"Oh, James," Jane said, digging around in her bag. "I've gotten you a birthday card and some money. I know your birthday's not until tomorrow, but seeing as how I won't see you…"

She pulled out the card and money and handed it to him.

He liked it well enough; James liked getting money, but after their gift to her–showing her Hogsmeade–her present felt inadequate. She could have went into Hogsmeade, gotten him something nice, but that would not have been fair to Sirius or Remus who had already received cards. She settled for buying _real_ gifts next term.

Jane was nervous most of the ride home. A few weeks before, she had received a letter from Sarah about her mum. Jane didn't know if her mum was better by now or not, there was no telling how long one of her episodes would last.

She found herself wishing that she could go to James' like Sirius was doing. She found herself dreaming of soaring on the new Cleansweep, of practicing her magic, having James and Sirius teach her quidditch moves and jinxes.

And then, she automatically felt terrible. She shouldn't want to spend her holidays with another family rather than her own. Her family wasn't like Sirius', who ridiculed and outcasted him. Her family loved and cared for her every single day, regardless of their flaws, which, in light of all that they had done for her, didn't seem so terribly horrible.

"All right there, Janie?" Sirius asked. "You've been awfully quiet."

Jane turned to look at them and smiled.

"Yeah, I'm all right. Wait till ya meet James' mum. Lovely woman," Jane said, and though she meant it, she only said it to see James roll his hazel eyes; it was fun to annoy James in small ways.

"If by 'lovely' you mean overbearing, then yeah, she's very _lovely_," he said.

But then, James smiled and turned to Sirius, determined that two could play at that game.

"You should see _Jane's_ mum. She's _hot_."

Jane blushed furiously.

"Shut up, James," she said, aiming a playful kick at his foot.

They all laughed. Once conversation struck up again, Jane took to looking out of the window, laughing whenever something funny was said. She thought how strange it was that just seven or eight months ago, she hadn't even known magic existed. But here she was, on the Hogwarts express. In two weeks she would be coming back and reviewing for her exams.

Time seemed to move so much more quickly now that she had more than one friend and school was something that she looked forward to most days rather than not. She wondered if Sarah felt the same way. Surely she too was making friends now that she was no longer hanging around with "that freak" Jane Hensworth.

Jane knew that the only reason she had managed her one friend was by good timing. Had Sarah moved onto her street in the middle of a school year, the other children would have told her to steer clear of Jane. But because Sarah had moved to Stockbridge over the summer, no one was there to tell her that Jane Hensworth was the weird girl without any friends. And for that one stroke of luck, Jane was grateful.

Luckily, Jane's mum and dad were waiting for her just outside Platform 9 and 3/4.

"Janie, darling!" her mother had exclaimed, and Jane couldn't help but smile and run into her open arms.

James was not wrong about Jane's mother; she was very beautiful. Her dark hair always seemed to frame her face perfectly no matter how she wore it, something Jane had never been able to accomplish. Her mum's eyes were big and bright blue as apposed to Jane's dull grey ones. And her smile, when she was happy, was unique in the way that it could look devious and reckless while at the same time looking kind and caring. Jane loved her mother's smile more than anything.

Jane often wondered what it was inside her mother that made her so prone to sadness, a sadness which Jane knew that she, herself, had never experience and was glad for it. She wondered how this beautiful woman with her bright blue eyes and mysterious smile could feel the way that she felt sometimes. She never understood how this woman–this strong, lively, happy woman–could be the same woman that shut herself up in her room for days at a time.

When Jane was younger, back before she knew of chemical imbalances and mental illness, and her mother was having an episode, she had asked her father why her mother was so sad.

"Most beautiful things in this world are very fragile and therefore, easily broken. Your mother is no exception, Jane," had been his answer, and that answer had been stuck inside Jane's memory ever since.

Sometimes, Jane was angry with her mother. Sometimes when she was little and couldn't sleep late at night, she would hear her parents arguing in their room just down the hall. Her father would sometimes beg for her mother to get help, but her mother, whether refusing to see a problem or being very proud (Jane would never know), would simply refuse any kind of "help." And sometimes Jane thought that this was incredibly selfish of her.

But as far as mothers go, Jane didn't think her mother was so bad. She loved her like a mother was supposed to and took care of her for the most part. What more do you ask of a parent?

"We've got your birthday present at the house, dear. Now hurry along. Give your trunk to your father, Janie. Let's go!"

Jane loved when her mother was like this, bubbling over with energy. That's how Jane wanted to be when she was older, no bad spells like her mum, just energetic and happy all the time.

When they finally pulled on to South Side Cottages and passed the Camden house, Jane saw Sarah peeking out of her bedroom window. She smiled, and as they pulled into their driveway, Sarah was already running down the street to welcome Jane back home.

"I've gotten _loads_ to tell you!" Sarah said as she hugged her best friend.

"Oh hello, Sarah."

"Hi, Mrs. Hensworth."

"Oh, darling. How many times have I asked you to call me Mary? Now come inside you two. Looks like its about to rain."

Sarah and Jane ran inside, both of them racing to Jane's room to see what Jane's mum and dad had gotten her. Sarah, being lithe and fast, burst through the door first.

There, on Jane's bed was a small red box with gold ribbon (Jane smiled at the choice of colours though Sarah hadn't a clue).

"Open it!" squealed Sarah. "Oh..."

"What is it?" Jane asked as she reached for the box.

"I left your gift at my house! Hold on for just a mo!"

Jane laughed as she watched Sarah streak out of her room. Then, her mother and father walked in.

"Where's Sarah going?"

"She left my present at her house," Jane explained, sitting there with her unopened box, waiting for Sarah to return.

"Well, before she gets back, your father and I have gotten you another little present besides that one."

Jane watched as her father pulled out a small, golden key from his coat pocket and handed it to her.

"You are now the owner of Vault 657 at Gringotts bank," her father said. "We figured you didn't have a need for the kind of money in your savings, so we converted it and put it all in Gringotts."

Jane smiled, looking down at the little key in her palm. She had a wizarding bank account. How cool was that?

"Now, don't lose that," her father said, pointing to the key. "Put it somewhere safe. From what I understand, it'll be a real hassle to get that replaced. So, put it somewhere you can find it."

Jane closed her fist around the key and smiled. She jumped up from her bed to hug her mother and father.

"Thank you so much," she said.

"You're welcome, darling," her mother replied.

Jane slipped the key into her pocket when she heard someone on the stairs. She smiled as Sarah stormed into her room, breathing heavily. Jane noticed small, wet dots on Sarah's blue shirt; the foreshadowed rain must have only just begun.

"Here...you go..." Sarah said, trying to catch her breath; Jane supposed she had sprinted all the way to and from her house.

Sarah place a slim, blue package in Jane's hands. She grinned.

"Well, go on then. Open it!"

Jane tore through the blue wrappings to reveal a Thin Lizzy record called _Shades of a Blue Orphanage_. Jane smiled. Thin Lizzy might not have been especially popular, but she loved them.

"Oh, Sarah! It's perfect! This is their new one, yeah?"

"Just came out a couple of weeks ago," Sarah said, smiling. "There's a song called _Sarah_ on it. I thought that was cool, and I know how you like 'em and all."

Jane smiled, placed the record on her bed, and hugged Sarah.

"Thank you," she said.

"You're welcome."

"Open ours now, Janie," Jane's mother said.

Jane opened the little red box and pulled out a golden necklace with a small lion charm on it. She smiled.

"It's beautiful," Jane said. "Thank you so much."

She hugged each of her parents.

"You're welcome, darling," her mother said, hugging her.

She pulled away from the hug and held Jane at arm's length. She sighed and brushed some of Jane's hair out of her face.

"Just yesterday you were seven," her mum said. "Oh, where does the time go?"

Jane laughed.

"Well, supper will be ready in a few. I'll call you when it's ready."

"Here. Help me put it on," Jane said, handing Sarah the necklace as her parents disappeared down the hallway.

She lifted her hair, and Sarah hooked the necklace in place. Jane examined it in the mirror and smiled. Then, she opened her record player and put on the Thin Lizzy record until supper was ready.


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11:

With the Easter holidays coming to an end and Sarah and Jane running out of things to do, Sarah invited the infamous Sean over. The pair of them were in Sarah's bedroom, waiting for him to arrive.

"Did I tell you that Sean and I are in the same house at Test Valley?" Sarah said.

Jane shook her head.

"You haven't even told me what house _you're_ in," Jane pointed out.

"Oh," Sarah said. "I'm in Wyckam. That's why I painted my room blue. That's our colour."

"I thought your uniform was green."

"Well, that's the uniform, isn't it? The houses have different colours."

"Oh," Jane said. "My house colours are red and gold."

"Oh, yeah. What's your house again?"

"Gryffindor."

"Your school has some weird house names," Sarah remarked as she peered out her window.

"Hey, Nightingale and Sopwith are pretty weird names too," Jane pointed out.

"Well, that's only two out of six. _All_ of yours are weird," Sarah said smiling.

Jane laughed. They _were_ weird. The founders of Hogwarts had some pretty weird names. But then again, Hogwarts was a pretty weird place.

"So, from what you've told me in all your letters, Sean seems to really like you," Jane said.

"Yeah, I think he does," Sarah said, blushing. "But its hard to tell if he likes me or if he _like_ likes me."

"I'm sure he does. I mean, he invited you to that musical festival in Reading. Sounds kind of like a date."

Sarah smiled.

"You think?"

"Yeah."

"There he is!"

Before Jane could speak, Sarah rushed downstairs and out the front door. Jane followed at a much slower pace.

Once she was outside, she found Sarah squeezing the daylights out of the poor boy.

_He_ is _cute_, Jane thought, taking in his light hair and green eyes.

"Took you long enough!" Sarah was saying. "Sean, this is Jane. Jane, Sean."

"Hello," he said.

"Hi," Jane said shyly with a small wave.

"Sarah's told me a lot about you."

"All good I hope?" Jane said smiling.

"Let's go to the river," Sarah said.

Jane shrugged and followed Sarah to the River Test.

Sean _was_ really sweet and funny and cute and everything Sarah said he was. He had moved to Stockbridge from Wolverhampton. Apparently his dad had grown up in Stockbridge and decided to move back. Jane couldn't ever imagine getting out of Stockbridge and wanting to _come back._

"There's pretty much nothing to do here," Sean said. "There was plenty to do in Wolverhampton. I like cities. One day, I'm going to move to London."

"I've always wanted to move to London," Jane said. "I absolutely _hate_ Stockbridge."

"At least you don't have to go to Test Valley," Sean said.

Jane laughed.

"Test Valley's not _all_ that bad," Sarah butted in.

"Yeah, you're right. Football team's pretty decent. Think I might try out one year," Sean said.

"James, Sirius, and I are going to try out for our house team next year," Jane said; she knew football and Quidditch were completely different things, but that's what she called it in front of Sarah.

"What position?" Sean asked.

"Up front," Jane said, thinking that she would try out for Chaser with James.

"Me too," Sean said, happy to find something in common with Jane.

As it turns out, they both had a lot in common, and Jane was growing increasingly aware of Sarah's new attitude as she tried desperately to inject herself into their conversations.

Finally, feeling that she was drawing Sean's attention away from Sarah, Jane's responses to him became one worded. She did not want Sarah mad at her. But Sean, however, seemed oblivious, and after a while, Sarah stopped trying to enter the conversation and took to throwing rocks into the river.

"Hey, Sarah and I and my brother are going to that music festival in Reading in August. You should come, too," Sean suggested.

At first, Jane was happy for the offer. Then, she glanced at Sarah, who looked crestfallen.

"I don't think my parents would let me," Jane said, which wasn't really a lie. "Thanks though."

After that, Jane was able to properly change the subject to Test Valley and Sarah was able to join in while Jane listened.

Everything was going great until right before Sean left.

"We should hang out this summer."

"Sure," Jane said out of politeness.

Once inside Sarah's bedroom again, Jane waited for Sarah to speak to her.

"He seemed to really like you," she said, not looking at Jane.

Jane shrugged.

"He was _nice_," she said, trying to sound indifferent.

"I mean, he seemed to _like_ like you," Sarah said.

Jane let out a nervous laugh.

"Now, I doubt _that_."

In all honesty, Jane felt almost giddy on the inside; no boy had ever liked her before. But the giddiness was quickly washed away by guilt she felt. She knew Sarah liked Sean a _lot_.

"Seems like he did," Sarah said.

Jane sighed.

"Look, Sarah, it's not like he likes me more than he likes you. And–and even if he _did_ like me like that, which he doesn't, but if he did, you're the one he liked first. Besides, I'll be gone in a couple of days anyway, and he'll probably forget all about me. And besides, I would never go after him. I would never do that to you," Jane said.

Sarah half smiled.

"I know you wouldn't."


	13. Chapter 12

**A/N****: Hello my dearest readers. I recently received a PM from someone (not giving out names) and they pointed out that the whole story so far seemed a bit childish. I want you to know that if you feel this way, then good! It's supposed to feel that way right now! They're only 12 y/o! I don't imagine any of my readers were a perfect pit of maturity when they were 12 so why would I make an OC that is? It's unrealistic. I want my readers to watch her grow and mature throughout the story. Okay, that's all. (This chapter is mostly comic relief and a bit "immature") Enjoy.**

* * *

Chapter 12:

Jane promised to write, when she could. Once she got back to school, the professors would probably be loading them down with so much review work that it'd be next to impossible to do much of anything else.

Once again, Jane found herself on Platform 9 and 3/4 with her parents. She thought about how the next time she would stand on this platform would mark the end of her first year at Hogwarts. Time was flying by so fast.

"Hi, Remus!" Jane called.

Remus turned and waved as he walked over to Jane and her family, his mother and father following suit.

Remus' parents were not nearly as sociable as Mrs. Potter was. They seemed to keep to themselves, but they were friendly nonetheless.

"Enjoy the holidays?" she asked Remus as they boarded the train.

Remus shrugged as he fell into a seat in an empty compartment.

"It was all right," he said. "And you?"

"Pretty good," Jane said as Peter found his way into the compartment.

After a while, James and Sirius found their way into the compartment, laughing about something that must have happened over the break. They all seemed to have had a pleasant holiday. They asked Jane about hers, and it was on the tip of her tongue to tell them about Sean, but because they were boys and had no interest in such things, she figured she'd save that bit of information for her roommates.

A long while later, Jane began to feel sick. Her stomach was killing her; she felt like someone was stabbing her. She tried, for a while, to sleep it off, but she was unable to get comfortable, and the pain kept her awake. In the end, she settled for pressing her face against the window, which was soothing and cool compared to her overheated face.

"You okay, Jane?" Remus asked when the boys finally noticed that she wasn't saying anything.

Keeping her eyes closed, trying not to focus on the pain, Jane slowly shook her head.

James, being the older brother type that he was when it came to Jane, traded seats with Remus so that he could sit beside her.

"What is it, Jane?"

She shrugged.

"I don't feel so good."

"Well, we'll be at school soon. We'll take you to Madam Pomfrey, okay?" James said.

Jane nodded. Then, Sirius got up to open the window a bit.

"What are you doing?" Remus asked.

"Well, she looks like she's about to die; I figure she might like some fresh air," Sirius said. "Besides, it's a bit stuffy in here anyway."

"She does not look like she's about to _die_," Remus scolded.

Jane ignored Sirius; she found it worked rather well when he teased her. She laid down over a couple of seats and rested her head in James lap.

The pain in her stomach was worsening. What she really wanted to do was cry. But she couldn't cry in front of _them_. They were boys and wouldn't understand; they were tougher; they'd tell her to get over it; it was only stomach pain after all. Well, maybe Remus wouldn't, but if she cried now, it would be terribly embarrassing.

But alas, Jane, who after all _was_ only a twelve-year-old girl, let a few tears spill down her cheeks. Luckily enough, this was only right before the train stopped at the station.

They headed straight for the hospital wing, and Jane felt vaguely embarrassed that all four of them were coming with her. It was probably nothing anyway, though by the time she'd gotten to Madam Pomfrey, she was kind of clammy.

Madam Pomfrey didn't let the boys come in when she questioned Jane about her symptoms, which Jane would be thankful for later. After a while of questions and weird wand waving, Madam Pomfrey looked as though she could laugh or roll her eyes (Jane didn't know which).

"I know what this is; you'll be fine."

Jane looked up at her, expecting to hear what it was, but she just turned to get something out of her office. When she returned, she carried a small glass and some kind of potion that was purple and bubbly. She poured it into the glass.

"Drink this; it'll help with the cramps."

Jane drank it. She didn't know why she had expected it to taste good; maybe because it reminded her of soda, but it was disgustingly bitter. But Madam Pomfrey was right; almost immediately after drinking it, she felt better.

"So what was wrong with me?" Jane asked before she left.

"Nothing, you're about to start your menstrual cycle," Madam Pomfrey said, leaving to get something.

Jane, who up until this point thought that surely no one person besides herself had ever experienced such pain, was thoroughly embarrassed.

Madam Pomfrey came out with some Lil-lets and sent Jane on her way. Jane managed to stuff them into her robe pockets.

She walked out to find James and Remus; Sirius and Peter had gotten tire of waiting.

"So are you all right?" Remus asked.

"Yeah, it was just a stomach ache," she lied.

No way she was going to tell _them_. No matter how close she was to them, they were still _boys_. She would tell Lily and Alice and write to Sarah, but she'd _die_ before she told a _boy_ no matter if they _were_ her best friends.


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13:

"_Pleeease?_"

Jane rolled her eyes. It was Saturday, and she was sitting in the library, trying to focus on the Transfiguration books that were on the table.

"No," she told James for the hundredth time.

"Why _not_?" he whined.

Jane snapped the book that she was reading shut. She looked up at him. He had been trying to get her to go to Hogsmeade with him for an hour now. He was bored out of his mind. It was one of those rare occasions where Sirius was in detention _without_ James. James hated it.

"I've already told you a thousand times!" Jane said, picking up another book. "Exams are the week after next. I need to _study_, not go to Hogsmeade."

James rolled his eyes and laid his head down on a pile of books on the table.

"You don't want to go. Remus doesn't want to go. Sirius _can't_ go…"

"Take Peter," Jane said.

James groaned a little. Jane suspected, though James liked all the hero-worship that Peter gave him, that he was starting to get on James' nerves.

"Look, I'm sorry, but I really have to study," she said.

"But Transfiguration is _easy_," James said.

"Maybe for you, but for the rest of us _normal_ people, it doesn't come naturally."

James scoffed.

"I'm normal!"

"No, you're above average. You and Sirius. Both geniuses," Jane said, almost disdainfully.

James smirked a little.

"Yeah, well, I got good looks and brains. Guess I'm just lucky."

"Yeah, while I sit over here with neither of those things," Jane mumbled.

"What are you on about? You're smart," James said. "You're really good at Herbology."

"That's because Herbology's easy," Jane said.

"Other people don't find it easy."

"Do _you_ find it hard?"

"I thought we already established that I was good at everything," James replied.

"James, I haven't even had time to write to Sarah in two weeks. What makes you think I have time to go to Hogsmeade?" Jane said.

"Come on! It can't be good to study this much! You need a break," James whined at her.

"No."

"How about you at least come with me to the Three Broomsticks? I'll buy you a Butterbeer and help you study there," James said.

Jane raised her eyebrows. He was going to help her study? _He_ didn't even study. He must've been really desperate. You take someone like James, and they would die if they had nothing to do.

Jane looked down at her wristwatch. A _little_ break wouldn't hurt her. She looked up at James with a tired little smile.

He smiled from ear to ear, knowing that she had given in.

"Fine, but we're not going anywhere else, and you have to help me study!"

"Yeah, yeah. All right, let's go!"

Jane grabbed a book and walked after James to the One-Eyed Witch statue. He helped her into the statue and off they went to Hogsmeade.

Once they were out of Honeyduke's, they walked into the Three Broomsticks. Madam Rosmerta looked at them with this stern face, but then smiled. She knew they weren't supposed to be there, but she wasn't going to rat on them; she absolutely loved James and Sirius.

Jane took a seat and opened her book. A few seconds later, James arrived with a couple of Butterbeers.

James held true to his word, for a while at least. He wasn't a really good tutor in Jane's opinion, but he was better than nothing. After a while though, he became very uninterested.

"This is boring," James stated, snapping her book shut.

Jane scoffed and tried to open it again, but James snatched it from her.

"Come on, James, I have to study," she said.

He rolled his eyes, but still held onto the book.

"Just take a break for two seconds, will ya?"

Jane huffed at him, but fell back into her seat.

"So, can I ask you a question?"

"You just did," Jane said.

"How do I get Evans to like me?" he asked.

Jane smirked a little.

"That's gonna be kind of hard to do."

James furrowed his brow.

"Why?" he demanded.

"Because she _hates_ you," Jane said.

"Well, how do I get her to _not_ hate me?"

Jane shrugged.

"Why are you asking _me_ for advice on how to get someone to like you? I can't get the guy _I_ like to even notice me hardly."

James frowned.

"What guy?"

Jane took a big gulp of her Butterbeer.

"That's not important. But if you want Lily to like you, I guess you could start by not—"

"Who do you like?"

"I'm not telling _you_," Jane said.

"And why not?" James asked, offended.

"Because you'd take the mickey out of me if I did."

"No, I wouldn't!" he lied.

"Well, you'd tell Sirius, and _he_ would," Jane said. "He's always teasing me."

"If I promise not to tell him, will you tell me?" James asked.

"You? Not tell Sirius something? That'd be something new," Jane teased.

"I promise I won't. I won't tell anyone. Not Sirius, not Remus, nobo—"

"Remus already knows. It's just Sirius I know you'll tell."

"Remus knows? You told _Remus_ but not _me_?" James asked.

Jane shrugged.

"I tell Remus lots of things. _He_ doesn't tell anybody if you ask him not to."

"Come on! You know I like Evans," James argued.

"Yeah, well, that's _obvious_."

"No, it's not!" James said defensively before taking a sip of his Butterbeer.

Jane let out a laugh.

"Come on, I promise I won't tell anybody."

Jane looked at him.

"Not even Sirius?"

"Not even Sirius."

Jane sighed.

"Blake Hanson, okay?"

"Alice Hanson's older brother?"

Jane nodded.

"Really?" James asked.

Jane saw the look on James' face and furrowed her brow.

"Yeah, why?"

James shrugged.

"Nothing."

"What?"

"I don't know, I just don't really like him that much," James said.

"Well, why not?" Jane asked, crossing her arms.

James shrugged, and Jane just rolled her eyes at him. The only reason that James didn't like Blake was because Jane liked him. James knew that Blake was very nice and kind; in fact, he was never rude to anyone.

No one had any reason to not like Blake. Except for James. Because Jane shouldn't like anyone.

* * *

By the time they got back to the castle, Sirius was already out of detention.

"Where have you been? I've been looking all over!" he exclaimed.

"We went to Hogsmeade for some Butterbeers," Jane answered.

"Bring me back anything?" Sirius asked.

James tossed him a bag of sweets they'd bought at Honeyduke's before they left. Sirius smiled.

"Well, I have to finish studying now," Jane said.

The boys protested, but Jane insisted that if she didn't study, she'd fail.

Jane's parents might have not understood too much about Hogwarts, but they knew every school gave marks. And they didn't tolerate bad marks too well.

So, James and Sirius were left alone to wonder around for a while. They found their way to the courtyard and sat down.

A few minutes later, a group of second years passed by them. James heard Blake Hanson's voice.

James nudged Sirius.

"Guess who Jane likes." Did she really believe he _wouldn't_ tell Sirius?

Sirius perked up. He was always looking or new ways to tease her.

"Now you can't go letting her know that you know; she'll know I told you. I promised her I wouldn't."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever," Sirius said impatiently.

James nodded over to the group. Sirius pulled a face.

"Crossly? She likes _Crossly?_" he asked incredulously. (Ian Crossly was a scrawny, pimply young lad with a terrible sense of humour.)

"No," James said. "Hanson," he said, pointing over to the group again.

Sirius smiled. Oh, was this going to be fun for him.


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14:

The next day, Jane was, once again, in the library, this time accompanied by Remus. Remus looked terrible, Jane was sure that he was falling sick again. He'd have to go to the Hospital Wing tonight; Jane was sure of it.

The school year was so close to being done. Jane could not wait to get exams over with. Then, she'd have a whole week to relax until she had to go back home.

Some part of her didn't really _want_ to go home, but the other part of her felt guilty for this because she really did miss her family and Sarah. Also, there was the added guilt of her letters; once she'd started to _really_ study, her letters to Sarah were pushed to the end of her to do list. She promised herself that she would make time to write today.

"It's almost lunch," Remus said, stretching and yawning, causing Jane to yawn as well.

Jane looked at her watch; lunch was in thirteen minutes. Remus was stacking up the books on the table.

It was like clockwork the way James and Sirius strolled into the library with Peter tagging along behind them.

"Ready for lunch?" James asked, slinging an arm around Jane's shoulders.

Jane just nodded. She wasn't really that hungry; exams had her feeling like she was going to puke up anything that went into her body besides the school curriculum.

The five of them walked through the corridors and into the Great Hall. Sirius smirked, noticing that Blake Hanson and his friends were already seated. There were also open seats next to them.

Instead of leading them to their regular seats, Sirius walked along the table until he reached the seats beside Blake Hanson's group. James, not being aware of Sirius' plan, gave Sirius a weird look. Sirius knew James would not have consented to this; James had made him swear to not even _tease_ Jane about her crush, but this didn't matter to Sirius. Teasing Jane was way too much fun for him.

"Why are we sitting down here?" Remus asked.

Sirius shrugged.

"Just felt like it," he said casually.

Jane was already aware of the close proximity to Blake. She knew exactly how far down the table he usually sat from them (she spent many times sneaking glances at him from behind her pumpkin juice goblet). At the moment she saw Sirius walking closer to him and his friends, she felt both terrified and ecstatic. She had to remind herself to act cool as she took her seat beside Remus. Blake was only four seats down and across the table. As she sat down, Blake glanced over, and Jane managed a small smile. When he smiled back, Jane's stomach went into butterfly mode. There was definitely no way she could eat _now_.

"Janie, pass me a sandwich," Sirius said.

Normally, Jane would have found his request odd, as he usually just leaned over the table for things, but because she was so focused on not making a fool of herself, she thought nothing of it.

As Jane reached for a sandwich, Sirius muttered something under his breath so low that no one, save for himself, could hear.

Jane's body suddenly lurched forward. She fell into the table, knocking over a bowl of pudding. When she sat back in her seat, trying to figure out what just happened, her whole arm was covered in pudding along with the table and part of her robes.

There were a few giggles and laughs from Sirius and the group next to them. By this time, Jane was as red as Lily Evan's hair and didn't have the heart to see if Blake was one of the ones laughing.

"Are you okay?" asked James, who was trying not to laugh.

"Yeah, I–I don't know what happened, I just lost my balance or something," Jane mumbled, trying to wipe pudding off of her; luckily, Remus knew a spell that cleaned her up instantly.

A little while later, after Jane had almost forgotten about the incident, she went to take a sip of her pumpkin juice. It was Sirius' time to strike again. As soon as Jane had the goblet to her lips, Jane's juice spilled all down the front of her.

This time, however, James heard Sirius mutter something and caught a glimpse of his wand under the table. James elbowed Sirius hard in the side and gave him a look that told him to stop.

Sirius only smiled. There was only so much James could do to him; he was, after all, his best friend. But Sirius decided that the small stuff was over; time to really embarrass her.

At this point, Jane figured that she'd have to hide her face from Blake Hanson for the rest o her life. He probably thought that she was a major klutz. What kind of person doesn't even know how to drink juice without spilling it all over themselves?

After they went back to eating, Sirius waited a while before he started to talk.

"So," he started loudly (loudly enough for anyone sitting beside them to hear), "I hear you have a crush, Janie."

James let his fork clatter to his plate, and Jane looked mortified.

"Who was it again? You know I'm terrible with names."

James stepped on Sirius' foot under the table, but this did not seem to phase him; he was on a mission. Jane was sure Sirius was trying to ruin her life.

"Oh, yeah, that's right. Blake Hanson, wasn't it?" Sirius said maliciously.

Jane stood up so fast that she thought she might be sick. Nope. She _was_ going to be sick. She rushed from the Great Hall not even daring to look at Blake or any of his friends, for she was sure that they had heard.

By the time she reached the girls' bathroom, tears were already glistening on her cheeks. She locked herself in a stall and cried. This was it. Her life was over. Sirius Black had ruined it. She could hear her father's voice in the back of her mind telling her to brush it off, that it wasn't the end of the world, as he had said to her all those times that she had come home with stories of how the other kids at school treated her.

And suddenly, it all turned to anger. She was mad at Sirius; she wanted nothing to do with him. She could handle him teasing her, that was almost harmless, but this time he had gone too far. And James; she'd never speak to him again. Had he not promised her that he wouldn't tell Sirius? A liar, that's what James Potter was.

Meanwhile, Remus and Peter had already went after Jane. James and Sirius lagged behind.

"What the bloody hell was that about?" James demanded.

"Nothing. I was just having a bit of fun. I was only teasing her."

"You promised you'd keep it a secret," James said. "Why would you do that to her?"

Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Oh, come off it, we do that stuff to everyone," he said, walking away.

James pulled him back roughly.

"Not to her," he said angrily.

Sirius was taken aback by his tone. James had never _actually_ been mad at him before.

"You're not really mad at me are you?"

James didn't say anything.

"Why is _she_ any different from anyone else?" Sirius asked.

"Because she's our friend, and she's like a sister to me," James said, "just like how I consider you a brother."

"Oh, come on, what I did wasn't _that_ bad," Sirius said.

"You announced who her crush was _in front of her crush,_" James said. "And it doesn't matter if _you_ don't think it was a big deal; it hurt _her_."

"Oh, come on, I just—"

"Well, don't. Don't do it again. I don't care _who_ you have a go at as long as its not her, got it?"

Sirius had to really look at James to make sure he wasn't kidding, and he wasn't, which really threw Sirius for a loop.

"Yeah, yeah, all right," Sirius said.

He didn't understand what the big deal was. Jane would get over it; he teased her all the time, and she always got over it. Why should this time be any different?

* * *

"I _don't_ want to talk to you."

James was sitting with Jane in the library, trying to convince her to forgive him.

"I'm really sorry, Jane. I didn't know he was going to do that."

"It doesn't matter! I specifically told you not to tell him, and you did anyway! And now, Blake knows I like him, and he probably thinks I'm weird!" Jane shouted in a whisper (she had already been shush twice by the librarian).

"I'm sure he doesn't think that," James said.

"Did you even _see_ what happened at lunch today?" Jane asked incredulously.

"Come on, Jane. I'm sorry. Please, don't be mad at me," James begged.

"Leave me _alone_," Jane said, opening a book.

James groaned in frustration. He obviously wasn't going to get anywhere with her. He'd just have to wait until she decided to forgive him.

"Fine! I don't care! Be mad!"

He stormed from the library. This wasn't going to be fun.


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15:

The next three days went by too slowly for James Potter. Even after he had apologised many times over, Jane still would not forgive him. Once Remus was back from the Hospital wing, James implored him to talk to her.

"Why would she listen to me?" Remus said.

"Because she's not mad at you," James replied.

"That doesn't mean I'll be able to change her mind. What Sirius did really hurt her—"

"Oh, come _on!_" interrupted Sirius. "It was just a joke. It's not my fault if she can't take it. She'll get over it; she always does."

He said that last part as reassurance to himself more than anything. Jane had never stayed mad at him _this_ long before. But despite the little voice in the back of his head telling him that he may have went too far this time, he refused to apologise on principle.

* * *

Remus had reluctantly agreed to try and persuade Jane to forgive at least James, if not both of them. So at lunch, he found Jane sitting with her roommates.

"Hey, Jane, can I talk to you?"

She looked up at him.

"If you're trying to get her to forgive Potter and Black, then you're wasting your time," Marlene said coldly.

"Yeah, you can tell them that Jane has no interest in being friends with arrogant gits like them," Lily said.

And though Jane _was_ furious with the two boys, she still felt a slight twinge at Lily's remark.

"What do you want?" Jane asked, as though she didn't already know.

Remus sat down beside her.

"You know James is really sorry, right?" he said. "He's done nothing besides try to get on your good side ever since this whole thing happened."

"I know he's sorry, and I don't care," Jane lied; she missed James' company.

"Come on, Jane. They're your best friends. Just _try_ and give them a second chance. Everyone deserves a second chance," Remus continued.

For a while, Jane was silent. James had apologised with every breath he took for the last three days. He really _was_ sorry; Jane could tell. She sighed.

"I'll forgive James, but he should know that I'm never telling him anything else again," Jane stated.

Remus smiled. One down, one to go.

"And Sirius?"

"What about him?" Jane asked coldly.

"Do you forgive him?"

Jane let out a harsh laugh.

"Why on earth would I do _that?_" Jane asked. "He hasn't even apologised yet. He doesn't even care if I'm mad at him or not. He thinks he did nothing wrong."

"Yeah, I know. But with Sirius, he just doesn't understand boundaries is all. I don't think he actually meant to _hurt_ you," Remus explained.

"Well, he did, and he doesn't even care. So no, I won't forgive him. Not now, not ever," Jane said.

"All right, well, shall I tell James?" Remus asked, standing back up.

Jane nodded and smiled a bit, before Remus walked down the table to join the guys.

"Well?" James asked hopefully.

"She forgives you," he told James.

Remus saw Sirius smirking a bit.

"But not you," he continued.

The smirk was instantly gone.

"And why not?" he asked, offended.

"She doesn't seem to think you're sorry," Remus said, fixing a plate of food.

"Oh, come on. What does she want me to do? Apologise?" he said.

"That's _exactly_ what she wants you to do," Remus said in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.

"Well, she can stay mad. She's just being oversensitive is all."

"You don't get it, do you?" James said out of nowhere.

Sirius just stared at him.

"Did you even listen to any of the stuff she said about her old school? You're treating her exactly like those Muggle kids did."

"I didn't treat her _that_ bad," Sirius argued.

"Yes, you did. You just don't see that because you don't understand when enough is enough," James said.

Sirius remained silent.

"Look, all I'm saying is that she's our friend, and you shouldn't have done that," James said, going back to eating.

Sirius didn't say anything for the remainder of lunch. At first he was mad. All those times he stood up for her, and he makes one mistake and suddenly, she hates him. It wasn't fair.

Sirius looked down the table to see Jane looking at him. She turned away quickly and tried to preoccupy herself with her food. Why hadn't she forgiven him yet? Maybe he _had_ crossed some sort of line.

Still, he wasn't going to apologise.

* * *

Two more days passed, and Sirius was getting angrier by the second. Jane would talk to James, Remus, and Peter just fine, but she completely ignored him. It was like he didn't even _exist_.

He didn't like it one bit.

He did everything to try and get her to acknowledge him, and none of it work. He wasn't used to being ignored like this; usually, he was in a spotlight.

So on Friday afternoon, he decided to swallow a bit of his pride. He found Jane sitting by herself under a tree next to the Black Lake, studying.

With his hands in his pockets, he strolled down to where she sat and placed himself in front of her.

"Hi, Janie," he said warmly.

No response, but she didn't move either.

"Hey, um, how long are you gonna stay mad at me?"

Silence.

"Hey!" he said, snatching her Charms book away.

Finally, Jane looked up at him with a very dull, very bored expression on her face.

"Give it back."

"No," he said, placing it behind him. "Why won't you talk to me?"

"You know _why_," Jane stated.

"Come on, that was five days ago, and it was just a joke—"

"Well, it wasn't very funny," Jane said angrily.

"Look, I–I'm sorry, okay?" Sirius said, rolling his eyes a bit.

"No, you're not. You just want me to stop ignoring you because it gets on your nerves. You don't care that you hurt my feelings," Jane accused.

Maybe she was right about her ignoring him getting on his nerves, but as soon as she said that, Sirius really _did_ kind of feel bad. Kind of.

"That's not true," he said.

"Yes, it is. You're probably only apologising because James asked you to."

James _had_ asked him to apologise, but that wasn't the _only_ reason he was doing this.

Jane folded her arms, and leaned against the tree.

"Look, Janie, I really didn't mean to actually hurt you. It was just a joke. I tease you all the time, and you've never gotten this sore before—"

"That's _different_. You can't just go telling my secrets to everybody. You made me look like a complete fool, and in front of _Blake_," Jane said.

"Why do you like him anyway?" Sirius asked.

Jane shook her head.

"It doesn't matter anymore. He's never going to like me now. He's probably never going to _talk_ to me again," Jane said quietly.

Jane started picking at blades of grass and tearing them apart. Sirius just looked at her for a while. He could tell that she was trying not to cry.

Suddenly, he didn't feel _kind of_ bad anymore, he felt _really_ bad. Had another person done what he had done to Jane, then he and James would be out to make their lives a living hell. And he really _did_ feel sorry now, but he sucked at apologising; he'd never had to do it before.

"That's his loss then, because you're a really cool person," was all Sirius could think to say.

"You're just saying that so I'll forgive you," Jane mumbled.

"Maybe just a little," he said truthfully, "but you really _are_ a cool person."

He gave Jane her book back, and she just stared at him.

"I really _am_ sorry though," he said. "You don't have to forgive me, but I _am_ sorry."

Sirius stood up and started to walk away. Jane looked down at her book but didn't open it. As much as she hated to admit it, she missed being friends with Sirius. After all, he and James were the first friends she made at Hogwarts. Besides, she was almost as bad at holding a grudge as Lily was.

"Wait," she called after him, jumping from her spot on the ground.

Sirius turned around and smiled; not smirked, but actually smiled.

"I'll forgive you," she said, "but if you _ever_ do anything like that again, I won't ever talk to you again."

"Understood," Sirius said. "Now, how about coming to Hogsmeade with James and I?" he asked slinging an arm around her shoulders.

"What is it that you two not understand about study time?"


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter 16:

During the next week, Jane was a wreck. Before every exam she took, she basically gave herself panic attacks, and after she took them, she frantically looked through her books for things she might have gotten wrong.

Even after listening to almost everyone, including Lily, telling her to calm down, she just couldn't. Even on Thursday, after the last exam was over, she _still_ felt the need to dig through her notes and books. This was followed by James and Sirius hiding her school bag, which she did not find funny in the slightest. She just promptly marched up to Remus and demanded that he tell her where her things were. To which his response was:

"What do you hope to accomplish? Exams are over. They're being graded as we speak."

And by that Friday, she had finally calmed down enough to enjoy the fact that there were no more classes. And since exams were over, and she had no more studying to do, she happily agreed to a trip to Hogsmeade with the boys.

They had walked down High Street, and talked about how they couldn't believe the school year was already over. They walked and walked until they reached the small cottages of the town's residents.

Hogsmeade, save for Hogwarts, was Jane's favourite place. She had fallen in love with it the very first day they had brought her there.

"I'm going to live here one day," she had told Remus in a matter-of-fact voice as they all sat in the grass under a tree.

"I thought you wanted to live in London," he had replied.

"That's for after I graduate. When I get older, _this_ is where I'm going to live," she had explained.

It was odd; Stockbridge had made her grow up to detest small towns, but Hogsmeade, it was just different.

Oh, Stockbridge. How she hated it there. There was never anything to do, and there was just so many bad memories. Still, there were good memories too; her and Sarah had made plenty of those to make up for the bad ones.

Jane had thought about how the next week, she'd be on the train home, and she had found herself both happy and sad. Happy, because she'd get to see her family and Sarah. Sad, because she'd miss Hogwarts and all the _new_ friends she made. But she had been content at that moment.

Sirius and James kept talking about practicing their flying over the summer. Lily and Remus had promised to write. Even Peter was a lot more bearable than usual, and he wasn't _that_ unbearable to begin with.

She had asked Sirius and James if they planned to write to her. James had said he would, but Jane suspected that he'd forget, and Sirius had promptly told her "no," though he smiled when he said it.

That Friday had been one of her favourite days.

The next week, the day before the train ride home, exams grades came out. To Jane's pleasure, she scored exceptionally well on all of them (she could've done better in History of Magic, but she was okay with what she had got).

That night, after the end of year feast, Jane and the boys sat together and just talked. Jane talked about how she couldn't wait to see Sarah, but that she'd miss them all. Remus talked about how school work over the summer just wasn't fair. James was excited about the rumours predicting a new Nimbus racing broom this summer. Sirius mostly complained about going home, and Jane didn't blame him. And Peter, well, he stayed quiet as he usually did.

They stayed like that, wrapped up in their conversations, until everyone else had cleared out of the common room and went to bed. Maybe they were all trying to delay the coming of tomorrow. If they could do that, then they wouldn't have to leave each other. Jane didn't think any of them liked the idea of not seeing each other for so long.

But the next day came, and they all loaded their suitcases onto the train and found a compartment. They talked and laughed and remembered good times. And when the train stopped they were almost reluctant to get off, save for Sirius, who was _very_ reluctant to get off.

They hugged and said their goodbyes, and Jane and Sirius were caught by James' mother, who was delighted to see them both again. And after a good farewell to them all, Jane walked through the barrier to join her awaiting parents.


	18. Chapter 17

Chapter 17:

As they pulled into their drive, Jane saw Sarah sitting on their doorstep. Jane grinned and jumped out of the car; Sarah ran to hug her. Jane was so happy to see Sarah; she never really knew how much she missed someone until she saw them again.

"Thank god!" Sarah remarked. "I thought I was going to die of boredom!" (Sarah's school had gotten out three days earlier)

Jane smiled and rolled her eyes. Sarah always over exaggerated things.

Jane pulled her suitcase up to her room and crammed it into her closet. Sarah looked at her, confused.

"Aren't you going to unpack?" she asked.

"Nah, I'll save that for later," Jane said; she couldn't let Sarah see all the things inside her suitcase.

Sarah shrugged and fell onto Jane's bed.

"So, what happened with the whole Blake thing?" she asked. "You said you forgave them, yeah?"

The "Blake thing" was the _last_ thing that Jane wanted to think about on her first day back home. She just nodded and gave a quiet "yeah" in response. Sarah picked at a string on her shirt.

"I just don't really understand _why_ you forgave them," she said. "I know _I_ would _never_ forgive someone for something like _that_," Sarah pressed.

Jane started to chew on the inside of her lip, a nervous habit she had developed over exam week.

"Well, they said they were sorry, and they're my friends. Everyone deserves a second chance, yeah?" Jane said.

Sarah sat up and shrugged her shoulders.

"I guess, but what they did to you was pretty terrible," Sarah said. "If any of my friends from school did that, then I'd _never_ speak to them again."

Jane shrugged; she knew Sarah would've done the exact thing she did, but decided not to voice this.

"So, are you and Sean going to hang out over summer?" Jane asked.

Sarah just shrugged indifferently.

"I don't know," she said. "I'm not even sure if I like him anymore really."

Jane looked at her, surprised.

"Why not?" Jane asked curiously.

"I don't know; I just don't," was all she said.

"Well, there's got to be a reason."

"There's really not."

Jane just stared at her.

"Well, I guess that means you aren't going to that music festival in Reading with him, yeah?"

"Oh, no, I'm still going. Mum's already agreed, and it's not like we aren't _friends_ anymore."

"Oh," Jane said.

She didn't know what else to say. Sarah had been obsessing over this guy since the beginning of the school year. And suddenly, she just doesn't like him anymore? It was weird.

"You know who I think _you_ should like? Even though he's a complete prat for what he did to you, but it's okay 'cause you've already forgiven him," Sarah said.

Jane waited for her to say something.

"That James boy. He's the cute one I saw at the station that time, yeah? Yeah, you should like _him_. He's cute," Sarah stated.

Jane laughed a bit.

"First off, that'd just be weird—"

"How come?" Sarah interrupted.

"Because he's my _friend_. You're not supposed to _like_ like your friends. And second of all, he likes Lily Evans. Remember? I told you that in my letters," Jane explained.

"Oh, yeah, but didn't you say that she didn't like him?" Sarah asked nosily.

"Doesn't make a difference to James. He never gives up," Jane said.

"Girls! Supper's ready!" called Jane's father from the lower level.

They both walked downstairs, pushing each other playfully. They had hardly sat down when Jane's father started asking about exams.

"All good marks, right, Jane?" he asked, peering over his reading glasses that he had yet to take off.

"Yes, sir," she replied happily.

"And how about Sarah?"

"One of the highest in my class," she said proudly.

"Now that's what I like to hear!" said Jane's father. "I knew you two'd do great, and that's why I made my famous treacle tart."

The girls smiled. Jane's father may have not cooked many things, but he made the _best_ treacle tart in all of Stockbridge. It was their absolute favourite.

Later that night, the girls climbed out of Jane's window and onto the roof of the house, as they had done so many times the previous summer. They could vaguely hear Jane's Thin Lizzy record playing softly from inside her room.

"Sean likes someone else," Sarah said, out of the blue after a bit of silence.

"What? Who?" Jane asked.

"Kennedy Bradshaw," Sarah stated a bit sullenly. "It doesn't matter though, because I don't like him anymore anyway."

Jane felt bad for Sarah. She knew the only reason that Sarah was _saying_ that she didn't like Sean was because he liked this Kennedy girl. Jane knew she still really liked him. She was just trying to detach herself.

Sarah did that a lot. She seemed to believe that if she quickly tried to push people away, then they couldn't hurt her. Jane saw this many times when Sarah claimed to hate her father. Jane knew it was a lie because every time Sarah received a letter from him, she was very excited (even though she tried to act indifferent).

"I'm sorry," Jane said.

"For what? It's not _your_ fault," Sarah said. "And besides, I don't like him anymore, remember?"

"Yeah," Jane said, but she still felt bad.

"Jane?"

"Huh?"

"We're always gonna be best friends, right?" Sarah asked.

"Of course," Jane replied.

"No matter what happens?"

"No matter what."

"Good," Sarah said. "You think there's anymore treacle tart left?" she asked hopefully.

Jane laughed.

"Mum and Dad probably ate it all," Jane said.

"That's a shame; your dad makes the _best_ treacle tart," Sarah said.

"Yeah, he does."

"Your really lucky, to have a dad like him," Sarah said suddenly.

Jane didn't know what to say. Sarah lay back on the roof and looked up at all the stars gracing the night sky.

"I have to go see my dad this summer," she said, and though Jane couldn't really read the tone of her voice, she now understood why Sarah was acting so weird.

"Oh," was all Jane could think to say.

Sarah had not seen her father since last summer when he was leaving. She had since then received letters, cards, and sometimes money on her birthday, Christmas, other holidays, and sometimes randomly. But this would be her first time actually _seeing_ him in a whole year.

"Where does he live?" Jane asked.

"Birmingham," Sarah replied. "I have to visit for two weeks.

"When d'you leave?"

"Wednesday."

"Nervous?"

Sarah nodded slightly.

"I think he's got a girlfriend," she said. "I don't really even want to go. I mean, why can't he come _here?_ Why do I have to go to _him? He's_ the one that left. And that's just two more weeks that we'll be away from each other," Sarah complained.

Jane looked over at her friend. She couldn't read her all that well, especially in the dark. She suspected, however, that Sarah was only saying this because she was really nervous and didn't know how to feel.

"Hey, at least you'll get to go to Birmingham. That'll be fun," Jane said, trying to make Sarah feel less nervous or scared or whatever she was feeling.

Sarah half-smiled.

"I guess you're right. I bet Birmingham's a cool place."


	19. Chapter 18

**A/N: Hello my dear readers! If you would like to look through some of the extra stuff I have for Misguided Adventures, such as Jane's class schedules or her letters to her friends over the summer, then go to my profile. There, you will find a nice little link in my bio that will take you where you need to go:)**

* * *

Chapter 18:

Four days passed, and it was Wednesday. Jane helped Sarah pack her things and they said their temporary goodbyes, and Sarah was gone. And Jane was left all alone in Stockbridge.

After three days, Jane was about ready to explode. She was marking off on her calendar the days until Sarah came back. She thought about writing to her school friends, but that plan failed owing to the fact that she had no owl nor any of their home addresses.

So for the two weeks while Sarah was away, Jane took to walking down Longstock Road, sitting by herself at the River Test, and shutting herself in her room and listening to her records.

On the day that Sarah returned, Jane was waiting for her outside of the Camden house. Sarah had on this beautiful new dress, and she was clutching a new Polaroid camera. She quickly rushed to Jane's side.

"Look at what Daddy bought for me," she said excitedly, thrusting the camera into Jane's hands.

"Wow!" Jane said.

"He got me other stuff too, like this dress, but _that's_ my favourite," she said, motioning to the camera.

"Oh, and you should see Birmingham; it's great! It's _waaay_ better than Stockbridge. And Janice, his girlfriend, was really nice. I'm so glad I got to see him!" Sarah said, talking really fast.

Jane just smiled, glad to know that Sarah was happy.

"So, what have you been doing while I was away?" Sarah asked as Jane handed her camera back.

"Dying," Jane responded dully.

Sarah laughed, and they both walked up to Sarah's room to help her unpack her things and look at all the other nice things her father had seemingly bought her love with.

* * *

The letters started coming a few days after Sarah got back, around the first week of July. Lily wrote first, and then Remus, and then James. Jane even got a letter from Sirius, but that wasn't until early August.

It was tough, trying to hide the fact that owls were flying into Jane's bedroom window every other day. In fact, Sarah had at one point said:

"You know how you keep your window open?"

Jane had replied: "Yeah."

"Well, I don't think you should. Yesterday, I could have sworn I saw a large bird fly in there. It must've flown back out at some point, but still, I think you should keep it closed," Sarah had told her.

Other than that, Sarah didn't suspect a thing, and they carried on their summer as they usually would have. Except there was a lot more picture taking due to Sarah's new Polaroid. They even hung out with Sean a few times, and every time, he liked Jane's company a bit more than Sarah's. At one point during mid July, this caused a small row between Jane and Sarah, which neither of them was used to.

"If you like him, just say so," Sarah had said.

"I don't! How many times do I have to tell you? Besides, I thought you said you didn't like him anymore anyway!" Jane had replied in a flustered voice.

"I don't," Sarah had defended weakly.

"Then, _why_ do you even care?"

"That's not the point!"

That row had caused them to stay mad at each other for approximately a whole day until they both decided it was stupid. Other than that, the rest of the summer was quite nice.

Jane got her letter from Hogwarts during the second week of August, which was the same week that Sarah left for the music festival in Reading. Two days later, she received a letter from James telling her what day that he was going and what time to meet him at Diagon Alley.

She was excited to see him again, and the others, if they came. And she definitely couldn't wait to start her second year, though, she was admittedly very nervous. James and Sirius were all but going _make_ her try out for the Quidditch team with them this year, and she had not gotten to practise her flying all summer. She feared that there was just no way she'd be able to make the team over everybody else that had probably practised all summer for a spot.

* * *

On the morning of August eighteenth, Jane and her mother awoke early, and made the almost two hour drive to London. When they got to Diagon Alley, James and his mum were already there.

"James!" Jane exclaimed happily.

She ran up to him and gave him a big hug. He had grown a few inches, not much, the only reason Jane noticed was because she used to be the same height as him, and now, he was a little taller.

"I've missed you so much!" she said, pulling away from him.

He laughed.

"I missed you too," he said.

"Are the other's coming?" Jane asked.

"Remus and Peter are. I don't know about Sirius. He said he was going to try."

And as if he could sense that he was being talked about, Sirius strolled into Diagon Alley by himself, with a smirk on his face. He hadn't gotten any taller, but he was still taller than Jane. James was about Sirius' height now.

"Miss me?" he asked arrogantly.

Jane looked around for his family.

"How'd you get here?" she asked curiously.

"Walked."

"You walked?" Mrs. Potter asked in an astonished voice. "Why on _earth_ didn't your parents bring you?"

Sirius shrugged.

"Guess they didn't feel like it," he said casually.

_I_ bet _they didn't feel like it,_ Jane thought.

She could only imagine Sirius telling his parents that he was going to meet up with James Potter and his other friends in Diagon Alley. Jane figured that the words "blood traitors" and "mudbloods" were said a few times. She felt bad for him, and apparently, so did Mrs. Potter.

"Why I _never!_" she had said under her breath.

"It was only a few miles," Sirius told her.

"Still! Leaving you to do your school shopping by yourself. They ought to be ashamed. Don't you worry, Sweetheart, I'll pick up your things for you."

"Oh, here's the key to my vault at Gringott's," Sirius said, digging his hands into his pants pocket.

"Oh, don't be ridiculous, Dear," Mrs. Potter said. "I'll pay for them. Now, you three run along and have fun. Mrs. Hensworth and I will pick up your things.

Jane kissed her mother goodbye and gave her the school list before the two mother's walked away.

The three friends waited on Remus and Peter before wandering off into the shops. The first place they went was Gringott's (Sirius still needed money to buy his Quidditch supplies; he simply refused to let James' mum but those too).

Then, they went straight into Quality Quidditch Supplies. The rumours about a new Nimbus racing broom were true. There, in the display case, sat a brand new, fresh off the market, Nimbus 1500 racing broom. Sirius and James were both getting one.

Jane had hoped to be getting an owl this summer, but she figured she needed the broom more, and if she was going to buy a broom, she certainly was going to buy the best, no matter how expensive it was.

Sirius went ahead and bought his Nimbus and Beater's bat. James and Jane were going to wait until after their mums were done shopping to get theirs.

When they walked out of the Quidditch shop, Jane stared longingly at Eeylops Owl Emporium. She supposed she'd just wait for next summer.

A few shops down the street, Mrs. Potter walked out of Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions.

"James!" she called, spotting the five friends.

James rolled his eyes.

"What?"

"Get in here so Madam Malkin can measure you! You need new robes. You're too tall for your old ones," she said. "Do you need new robes, Darling?" she asked, turning her attention to Sirius.

"No, thank you," he said politely.

Jane laughed at him. Who knew Sirius had actual _manners? _He immediately glared at her. She stopped laughing.

"What about you, Jane Darling?" asked Jane's mum from behind Mrs. Potter.

Jane, who had hoped since the start of her period that she would grow a few inches and maybe get actual breasts over the summer, had virtually not changed since the last school year. The only difference was that her hair was a bit longer, and she had begun showing early signs of acne.

She shook her head. She, unfortunately, had no need for new robes at the time being.

So Jane, Peter, Remus, and Sirius walked over to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour and waited on James while they enjoyed their treat.

She and Remus talked about the summer work that they had been assigned and what all they had gotten done, until Sirius told them, in a not so polite way, to be quiet about it. So Jane switched her focus to Quidditch.

"Why aren't _you_ trying out, Remus?" she asked.

He almost laughed.

"Sports and I don't really agree with each other."

"Well, _I'm_ probably not going to make the team," Jane said sullenly.

"Not with _that_ attitude you aren't," Sirius said after rolling his eyes.

"I haven't got to practise all summer," she said. "It's easy for you and James. You both got to practise all you wanted, _and_ you're both good at _everything!_"

"Well, you're not wrong about that," he said, smirking.

Jane hit him in the arm playfully.

"I'm sure you'll do fine, and even if you don't make the team this year, there's always next year," Remus said.

"Who said anything about _next_ year?" Jane asked.

As far as she was concerned, if she bombed at tryouts, she'd never ride a broomstick again. Jane was a big fan of the saying: _If at first you don't succeed, sit down and let someone else do it._

"That's right," said Sirius, leaning an elbow on her shoulder, "because she's going to make the team _this_ year."

"Damn right she is," came James voice from behind them.

Jane smiled. They all had their ways of making her feel better. And for some reason, having them believe in her gave her a little bit more confidence. Suddenly, she couldn't wait for Quidditch tryouts.


	20. Chapter 19

Chapter 19:

The next week and a half was a little hard on Jane. Whenever she tried to pack, Sarah was hovering over her. If she were being honest, what she wanted was just a little alone time. But finally, she was able to pack her suitcase without hindrance.

Then, on the last week, her mother fell into one of her episodes which was a big problem for Jane for two reasons: 1) Her mother had gone since a little before Easter without an episode (Jane had foolishly thought that her mum was getting better) and 2) Jane's father had _just_ left for a business trip, and she had no one else to take her to the station.

So very early on September first, Jane marched into her parent's room. Her mum had virtually not moved in almost two days. It was disappointing for Jane to see her like that.

"Mum," Jane said, shaking her sleeping mother a bit.

"Hmm?" her mother said, but did not make to move or even open her eyes.

"Mum, you've _got_ to get up," Jane begged.

No response. Jane shook her a bit harder.

"Mum, you have _got_ to get up! You've got to take me to the station, and it's a two hour drive!" she said loudly, trying to awaken her mother.

"Have your father take you," she said, as she rolled over to the other side of the bed.

Jane rolled her eyes, and moved around to the other side of the bed as well.

"Dad's on business, remember? He won't be back till Sunday. I need you to get up," she continued to plead.

"Can't Sarah's mum take you?" her mother asked.

Jane wanted to scream or cry or something to get her mum to realise what she'd just said.

"Mum, she _can't_ take me! I think she might have a heart attack if she saw me walk through a wall! Plus, she's at work."

No response.

Jane's breathing got a bit out of sorts. She could feel an anxiety attack coming on. She started on the breathing exercises her father had taught her. Apparently he had anxiety attacks as a child too, though Jane's weren't all that frequent.

Once she calmed down a bit, she shook her mother again.

"Get up!" she said firmly.

Her mum didn't even move. How like a child she could be sometimes; it wasn't fair to Jane. She could feel anger pouring into her. How many times was her mother offered help, and how many times had she refused it? Would she rather her life consist of _this_? Jane snapped. She yanked the covers off of her mother and pushed her as hard as she could.

"_GET UP!"_

Jane's mother shot out of bed with a fire in her eyes that Jane had never seen before; it scared her; this was _not_ her mother. Then again, Jane had never yelled at her mother before. It almost felt…good.

"Don't you _ever_ yell at me or push me like that again; do you understand?"

"I need you. To take me. To the station," Jane seethed, matching her mother's anger level.

"I heard you the first time!"

_Then why didn't you get up?! _Jane thought.

"Go make sure you've got all your stuff packed. I need to get ready. I don't want to look at you until it's time to leave," her mother said, walking to the bathroom.

"Fine," Jane said in a contemptuous voice as she stormed off to her room.

Jane fell on her bed and buried her face into her pillow. She waited until she could hear the water running from the shower to scream. It came out weak, muffled by the pillow. Her mother could be infuriating at times like this, but they had never actually had a row like that.

But in the moments after she had pushed and screamed at her mother, and even now still, there was an adrenaline rush that shot through Jane's body. It was something she had never felt before. She felt brave and strong, like she could do anything.

Jane wasn't an especially rebellious child, and she had never planned on being, but she imagined that this is what it felt like. All those times that Sirius had described the screaming matches with his parents, Jane now understood why he always smiled that devilish smile. It felt good. Liberating. She felt free.

Almost the entire ride to London was in silence. Jane only spoke when spoken to, and even then, her responses were curt. She justified this in her mind by saying that she was still mad at her mother for that morning's row, but that wasn't the whole truth.

Secretly, somewhere deep inside of Jane, she hoped that her mother would become frustrated with her again; scream at her, so that she could scream back. Jane wanted to feel that rush again, though she felt guilty for thinking it. So yeah, she was only still mad.

On the platform, however, Jane managed to mumble a farewell to her mother, even saying "love you." After all, she _was_ still Jane's mother, and Jane _did_ still love her.

As Jane lugged her suitcase and new broomstick over to the train, she heard a flustered yell from somewhere in the distance. And while she didn't recognise the voice, she could easily guess who it belonged to.

"Sirius Black! How dare you walk away from me? Come back here this instance!"

"I'm only helping a friend," Sirius called to his mother, and Jane could hear the laughter in his voice.

He was already by her side with his own suitcase and matching broomstick. He clasp his arm around her shoulders and smiled back at his mother, who looked set to kill.

"I told you about Janie, didn't I?" he called to her.

You could tell that he _had_ told his mum probably all about Jane, because as soon as he said Jane's name, Mrs. Black's nostrils flared, and her face turned blood red. And in that moment, Jane thought that maybe there _was_ something different about "Pure Blood," because she had never seen anyone with _regular_ blood have their face turn _that_ colour red before.

Jane broke eye contact with Mrs. Black, and though Jane couldn't see his face, she could just _feel_ Sirius grinning at his mother. Luckily, no one made a scene, and the two friends helped each other with their luggage.

"Why'd you do that?" Jane asked.

Sirius let out a laugh.

"It's not funny! She looked about ready to murder me!"

"Oh, relax, Janie, will ya? She wouldn't do anything to you; not in public at least," he said as they found an empty compartment.

Jane gave him an incredulous stare.

"Besides, she'd kill _me_ before she killed you," he assured.

The devilish smile that he had on his face reminded Jane about the row with her mother and the adrenaline rush. She wanted to tell him about it, but by doing so, she'd have to tell him about her mother, and that's not something she told anybody, not even Remus or Lily. So she said nothing.

Suddenly, Jane noticed the shirt he had on. It was a Beatles shirt. She cocked an eyebrow.

"That's a Muggle band," she pointed out.

"Really? I hadn't noticed," Sirius remarked sarcastically.

Jane rolled her eyes.

"You know they broke up like two years ago," Jane said.

"Yeah, but that doesn't stop their records from being amazing," Sirius pointed out.

Jane laughed.

"Bet your mum _loves_ that shirt," Jane said.

"Yeah, and she loves all the posters of Muggle women and motorbikes that I've put in my room too," he said happily.

"Bet she'll tear them down while your at school," Jane pointed out.

"Can't. Permanent Sticking Charm," Sirius said proudly.

"She's gonna be furious with you."

"That's the thing about her; she's _always_ furious with me."

Jane smirked.

"I got loads of cool Muggle things over summer," he said. "Had to hide most of them from my family. Mum would chuck them out the window if she found them. Mostly records and stuff. Got a record player too. Now getting _that_ in the house without her seeing was tough…"

After a while, Sirius finally asked Jane about her summer, and she dug through her suitcase for the small photo book that Sarah had made for her before she left.

After a while, the others strolled in.

"What're you looking at?" James asked, sitting on the other side of Jane.

"Looking at pictures," Jane answered.

James looked at the pictures in the small book. His brow furrowed.

"But they don't move," he said.

"No," Jane agreed.

"Well, that's boring," he said, though he continued to look with them anyway.

"These are some pictures that Sarah took in Birmingham," Jane said, pointing to the first few pictures.

"Is that her?" Sirius asked, pointing to one of the pictures.

Jane nodded.

"That's my house in the background of that one," Jane said when she flipped to the next page, "and that's my mum and dad."

"Who's that?" James asked, pointing to a different picture on the next page.

Jane looked at it. It was a picture of Sean.

"That's Sean."

"I don't like him," James said.

Jane rolled her eyes and continued to flip through the picture book with the boys huddled around her. And when they got got to the school, and she walked up to the dorm, she repeated this with Lily and her other roommates before going to bed, happy to finally be back at Hogwarts.


	21. Chapter 20

Chapter 20:

That Monday marked the start of classes, which gave them all a good weekend break to catch up. Jane rolled out of bed, groggy from last night's late trek to the kitchens with James and his new invisibility cloak, which everyone else had already had a go at. The cloak, unfortunately, could not cover all five of them at the same time.

Unsurprisingly, she wasn't hungry for breakfast, but she got dressed and went down to the Great Hall with the boys anyway. Once again, Professor McGonagall placed their timetables in their hands and walked away to find other students.

Jane took one look at the schedule and literally groaned.

"What are you upset about?" Remus asked, looking delighted. "We get Monday afternoons off."

Jane pointed to their first class.

"How on earth am I supposed to _ever_ start my week off good, if _History of Magic_ is my first class on Monday?" she whined; she was already not inclined to like Monday mornings as it was.

"Yeah, followed by Potions with _Slytherin_," James said, looking at his schedule as they sat down.

Just then, a seventh year boy, whom Jane knew to be the Gryffindor Quidditch captain, passed them. Jane grew nervous.

"Hey, guys, about Qudditch tryouts, I don't thin—"

"No, none of that again," Sirius said, his mouth half full of food.

"Honestly, guys, tryouts are _Friday_, and I haven't got to practise all summer!" she complained.

"You'll do fine, Jane," James said, waving her off.

"I'm gonna make a fool of myself!" she exclaimed.

"No, you won't," James argued.

"Look, Janie, even if you _do_ make a fool out of yourself, you're not going to be the _worst_ out there."

"For some reason, that _doesn't_ make me feel any better," Jane said, rolling her eyes.

* * *

"I can't do this."

Friday had come, and Jane was ready to puke. They had practised some after lunch on Monday and little after classes Tuesday through Thursday, but she still didn't feel like she was ready.

"Shut up already!" Sirius said, frustrated.

"Look, Jane, you'll be fine," James assured.

"But I—"

"Fine!" Sirius said, throwing his hands up. "We've had to listen to you all week! If you wanna back out, then fine. But I'll have you know that I'm gonna take the mickey out of you for being a quitter for the rest of your life."

"You're not helping," James scolded Sirius.

He turned his attention back to Jane.

"Look, you're a good flyer, Jane."

"Yeah, but they're probably _better_," Jane mumbled, talking about the other Gryffindors trying out for the team.

Sirius rolled his eyes.

"You don't know that," James said.

"And besides, just because someone _may_ be better than you, you're just not going to try? That's ridiculous," Sirius said.

Jane looked at the ground. _They_ didn't understand. They were good at _everything_. She wasn't.

"Say that you _don't_ make the team; what's the worst that could actually happen?" James asked.

"I might get made fun of," she said quietly.

"First of all, since _when_ do we let anyone make fun of you, besides us?" Sirius butted in. "And second of all, how many of these people do you actually _talk_ to? It's not like they really _know_ you. So what should you care what they think?"

Jane looked around. She knew some of the people by name, but half of them she had never really talked to. Most of the friends she had were in her year, and her, Sirius, and James were the only second years trying out.

"Look, just do your best. You'll do fine; I promise," James said.

"I need everyone going out for Chaser lined up in three equal lines over there! Beaters, two equal lines over there, and Keepers, over there!" the captain said, pointing people to where they needed to go.

Sirius threw his broom over his shoulders, and walked away with his Beater's bat swinging from one hand.

James, who had started to walk to where the other Chasers were standing, turned back to look at Jane, who still had yet to move. She looked at him, chewing the inside of her lip.

"It'll be okay," he said, motioning for her to follow.

He smiled at her, a very kind and reassuring smile that made Jane a little less nervous. She half-smiled back and followed him. After all, they were right. She should at least _try_.

"Name?" asked a girl, whom Jane recognised as a Gryffindor fifth year that usually commentated on the Quidditch games.

"Jane Hensworth."

"Hensworth, fifteen," the girl said as she scribbled something on a piece of parchment and gave Jane a number to pin to her robes.

After everyone got sorted out with names and numbers, tryouts started. First, they did a few flying drills, such as weaving in and out of goal posts, shooting across the pitch to turn at a certain spot without losing balance, stuff like that. It was to test their agility and balance and speed, and Jane did pretty well at that. But when the Quaffle got involved, Jane was a little less than perfect.

Twice when someone threw her the ball, Jane flew right past it. Once, while trying to throw it through a goal post, she missed dreadfully. But after that, she got progressively better. And much to her surprise, and relief, she was doing really good compared to a lot of the others out there.

Unsurprisingly, James and Sirius were perfect. Which both infuriated her and made her happy a the same time. She was just jealous.

Finally, when all was said and done, everyone was clustered together around Marcus Johnson, the Seeker and Quidditch captain. He held a list in his hand.

"Okay, so here are the names of our new Quidditch team. If I don't call your name, please stick around because I need to announce the alternates as well, and I _don't_ feel like tracking you down."

James put an arm around Jane's shoulder. She cringed and ducked out from under him.

"Don't do that; you're all sweaty."

"So are you," he pointed out.

"I know, but _still_," she said.

He just laughed at her.

"Our new Keeper is number seven, Will MacGregor," announced Johnson.

A good looking, sandy-haired boy with freckles walked forward. He was a year above Jane.

"Returning as Beater, number twenty-four, Candice Michaels, and new Beater, number twenty-two, Sirius Black."

Sirius grinned, and James clapped him on the back. Jane smiled as he walked forward with a fifth year girl.

"Returning as Chasers, number seventeen, Mitchell Cason, and number thirteen, Kennedy Cheever. And new Chaser, number fourteen, James Potter."

Jane smiled. She really was happy for him. Sure she didn't make the team, but hey, she still had a good time.

"Good job," she said, before he walked forward with a boy and a girl that were both in their seventh year.

"Okay, okay, everyone settle down," Johnson said to the people clapping and congratulating their friends.

"All right, now for alternates. Alternate Seeker, based off of today's flying skills will also be number fourteen, James Potter. We'll talk about that more at practise," he said, looking at James.

Jane smiled. James was a really great flyer.

"Alternate Keeper, number five, Casey Jackson. Alternate Beater, number twenty-six, Karl Mackey, and alternate Chaser, number fifteen, Jane Hensworth."

Jane couldn't believe her ears. _She_ was an alternate? She almost jumped for joy. The possibility of her actually getting to play in a game was probably very slim, but still, Johnson had to have thought she at least had potential if he made her an alternate.

She smiled. And to think that she had not even wanted to try out.


	22. Chapter 21

Chapter 21:

Since Jane was an alternate, she got to practise with the team, whether she'd actually play that year or not. She'd just do flying drills or laps, stuff to keep her sharp in case she _did_ have to play. Usually when the Quaffle and Bludgers got involved, she sat in the stands with the other alternates, but sometimes she got to fly around with them.

Apparently, James and Sirius, who were determined that Jane would make first string the next year, did not think that this was enough practise.

So one Sunday night in October, Jane was awoken from her slumber by harsh voices coming from the window.

"If you don't leave right now, I'm going to get Professor McGonagall!" Lily was saying to the open window.

"Could you just wake up Jane for us?" Jane heard James' voice say.

Jane crawled out of bed and walked slowly over to the window.

"What's going on?" she asked Lily quietly.

Jane looked out the window to find James and Sirius sitting on their broomsticks.

"What are you _doing?_" Jane asked.

"Getting you. Go on and get dressed and grab your broom," Sirius said.

"Are you mental?" she whispered, carful not to wake the others. "For what?" she added as an afterthought.

"Practise," James said excitedly.

"You _do_ realise its the middle of the night," Lily said.

Jane had to agree with Lily on this one. Why on earth did they think that Quidditch practise in the middle of the night was a good idea? Why not during the day like sane people?

"Just come on," Sirius said, as though that would get Jane to agree.

And he was right.

"All right. Hold on just a mo," she said.

Lily gave her an incredulous look.

"You're not _really_ doing this right now, are you?"

Jane shrugged.

"Why not?"

"Because its against the _rules!_" Lily exclaimed.

"Well, we won't get caught if you keep your trap shut," Sirius said.

"Look, he's right. The teachers walk around the castle. They won't be anywhere _near_ the Quiddith pitch." Jane looked at Lily. "You _aren't_ going to tell on us, are you?"

"No, but—"

"Thanks," Jane said, grabbing her broomstick. "Leave the window unlocked, yeah?"

Lily mumbled something, but Jane knew that she would, so Jane flew away down to the Quidditch pitch with the two boys. The cool night air felt great against her face along with the added adrenaline rush of breaking a school rule.

When they landed on the Quidditch pitch and walked to where the team meetings were held, Jane asked:

"So why are doing this in the middle of the night?"

"Because technically, we aren't supposed to touch the Quaffle unless we're in a game or at a _real_ practise," James said.

"Yeah, and your flying skills are great, but you never really get to practise with the Quaffle. And if you have no hand-eye coordination, then there's no way you'll make the team next year," Sirius said.

Jane nodded. True.

"_Alohomora!_" James said, when he reached the box where the balls were held.

The lock on the box clicked, and he opened it. He threw the Quaffle to Jane really fast, and it hit her in the face.

"Hey!"

"See? This is why you need practise," Sirius teased.

Jane didn't think that that was really fair. She wasn't ready.

"Okay, well why are we doing this on a Sunday night? We have classes tomorrow. Why didn't we do this last night or the night before?" Jane asked.

"Full moon tonight," James said. "Need to _see_ the Quaffle, don't we?"

Jane nodded again. True again.

She picked the Quaffle up and tossed it to Sirius.

"All right, let's have a go," she said.

They walked back out to the pitch and flew up into the night air. Excitement welled up inside of Jane again. This was nice. The pitch was pretty when it was lit up by moonlight; everything looked better by moonlight. And practise was a lot more thrilling when you were breaking rules. She raced James around the posts a few times, laughing.

This wasn't the first time she had broken a school rule; obviously Hogsmeade trips were not permitted to her legally. But this was better. She didn't know why, it just was.

As it turns out, practise with James was not that fun at first. He was a perfectionist. He'd make Jane repeat the same drill, pass, shot, move, etc. over and over again until she got it perfect. Not good, not great, not exceptional. _Perfect_. Plus, it was the only time he had ever yelled at Jane.

Arse or not when it came to Quidditch, James was a great coach. He pushed Jane to her limits, limits she didn't even know she had. And she liked it. She could _feel_ herself getting better with every catch, every goal, every sharp turn. If they kept this up, she'd without a shadow of a doubt make first string next year.

After they were done, and put the Quaffle back where it belonged, Jane lay down on the pitch.

"What're you doing?" James asked.

"I'm tired."

"Well, we were about to go back to—"

"Don't wanna go back to the castle," she said. "I wanna stay here for a little while."

It was one of those nights when there were no clouds in the sky. The stars could be seen perfectly, and though it was a bit cold outside, it was still bearable.

The boys looked at her. She flashed them a smile, the moonlight dancing in her eyes. They lay down beside her. She and Sarah did this all the time during the summer in the fields behind their houses. It was just a nice way to relax and forget.

Jane felt a small pit form in the middle of her stomach. In a little over a week, Jane would've been at Hogwarts for two months, and so far, she had only written to Sarah three times. Between practise, schoolwork, and sneaking off to Hogsmeade, she had, admittedly, forgotten about Sarah many, many times.

Jane made a silent promise to write Sarah sometime next week, and she pushed the thought to the back of her head, the pit in her stomach subsiding. After all, there was nothing to be done about it right now; she'd just have to do better.

In the distance, on the outskirts of the little town of Hogsmeade, an awful howling could be heard. Jane had heard about the Shrieking Shack. It was supposedly haunted, but she had never actually heard any of the noises for herself until then. They sounded almost animalistic. It kind of gave her the creeps. So after a while of laying and talking, Jane stood up, and they all flew back to their dorms.

Jane shut the window tight and locked it before curling into her bed.


	23. Chapter 22

Chapter 22:

November fourth marked the first Quidditch match of the season. Gryffindor versus Slytherin. Though Jane would not get to play, she had always enjoyed watching the matches. She loved it even more now that two of the players were her best friends.

She cheered as the Gryffindor team flew out onto the pitch in their red and gold Quidditch robes. However, her cheers quickly turned to boos when the Slytherin team rushed onto the pitch.

Jane hated the Slytherin team. They were all big and ugly, and they were also the only team at Hogwarts that wouldn't let girls play. So it wasn't bad enough that they were all arseholes, they were _sexist_ arseholes as well. Unfortunately, they were good sexist arseholes.

However, Jane was confident in the Gryffindor team. She was confident in her friends. James was the best Chaser on the team; he was just that good. And Sirius was a great Beater. Jane suspected that they could play professionally one day.

"Hey," said a Hufflepuff girl beside Jane.

Jane recognised the girl from Transfiguration and History of Magic.

"You're Jane Hensworth, right?"

Jane nodded.

"Alicia Campbell," the girl said.

Jane wanted to tell the girl that she knew. Alicia had been sitting in front of her in History of Magic for two months now.

"You're friends with Potter and Black, aren't you?"

Jane smiled and nodded.

"You're so lucky. They're the most popular boys in our year," Alicia said.

"Are you Potter's girlfriend?" she continued.

Jane laughed.

"James? No. No no no. He's like a brother to me," Jane said, still laughing.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I just always see you with him."

"No, I don't have a boyfriend," Jane told her.

"Oh, well, they're so cute," Alicia said, staring dreamily at Sirius as he flew by.

Jane looked at the girl strangely.

"Uh, yeah, I guess."

"You don't think so?"

Jane shrugged.

"I've never really _thought_ about it," she said.

Jane was eager to leave the conversation, so she turned to talk to Remus, who Jane could tell heard the whole thing because he was smiling a little.

"Shut up," Jane said.

"I didn't say anything," Remus defended.

Jane really _hadn't_ thought about it. James and Sirius? _Cute?_ Maybe she just didn't think about it because she was always around them. That being said, she'd never _like_ either of them. That'd just be _weird_.

* * *

Gryffindor beat Slytherin by a very large margin. James scored so many goals that Jane had lost count, and Sirius had managed to injure Slytherin's Seeker with a Bludger.

Gryffindor always held huge parties in the common room after the team won a Quidditch match. The Prewett twins always snuck food and Butterbeer from the kitchens and, sometimes, they even managed to get Firewhiskey, which a lot of people thoroughly enjoyed. Jane, thus far, had been able to avoid it without conflict.

Unfortunately, Sirius noticed this.

"Hey, Janie," he said, walking over with a goblet in his hand; Jane could just smell that it was Firewhiskey.

"Here, drink some of this," he said.

Jane held up her cup of Butterbeer.

"I'm good, thanks," she said.

"Aw, come on, Janie," Sirius said, sitting next to her on the couch.

"No, thanks," she said.

Sirius rolled his eyes.

"It's not bad," he said.

Jane honestly wanted to say something to the effect of "I'm not supposed to," but she figured that would sound lame. So she just stayed quiet.

"Come on," he said. "Live a little. Break a few rules."

"I break rules all the time!" she defended.

"Just take a sip."

"No!"

"Oh, you're turning into Evans."

"I am not!"

"Are so."

Jane glared at him. Maybe she didn't _want_ to try it. That didn't mean she was as much of a goody-good as Lily was. But she rolled her eyes and sighed in defeat anyway. What harm could one sip do?

Sirius smirked as Jane took the cup from him and put it to her lips.

The drink burned Jane's throat as it went down, making her insides feel all warm. It didn't taste bad; in fact, she kinda liked it.

"See? That wasn't so bad, now, was it?" Sirius teased. "Now, drink that. I'm gonna go get another one."

Jane sat by herself on the couch, carefully sipping on the Firewhiskey and watching the party. She didn't usually get really into these kind of affairs. She liked to just watch. Usually, Remus would be sitting right beside her, doing the same thing, but he was up in his dorm studying for a quiz that they were going to have in History of Magic on Monday.

After a while of sitting and having no one to talk to, seeing as how James and Sirius were off having a good time, Jane decided that she'd join Remus. She needed to study anyway.

When she finished her cup of Firewhiskey, she stood up, and a weird kind of warmth pumped through her body. She felt good, great actually. Then, she had a great idea. Studying for History would be a lot more bearable with another cup of Firewhisky.

She walked up to one of the Prewett twins. The Prewett twins were very sociable and definitely the only sixth years that had ever spoken to Jane purposefully. She loved them. They were vivacious, and they always made her laugh and called her Sweetheart. They were great.

People usually couldn't tell the twins apart, save for their girlfriends, but Jane had a trick. Fabian always wore this gold watch. She had yet to share this information with Peter who always begged her to tell him how to tell the twins apart because he always guessed wrong.

"Hi, Gideon," she said.

"Well, hello, Sweetheart. What can I do for ya?"

"Firewhiskey?"

"Since when did little Miss Hensworth start drinking?"

"Since today," she said in a somewhat proud tone.

"All right then," Gideon said, grabbing one of the bottles and pouring a cup.

"Gideon Prewett!" came the shrill voice of a sixth year girl, whom Jane recognised as his girlfriend. "You better not be giving her that."

"Ah, Lindy, come on. Lighten up," Gideon said.

"She's like twelve, Gideon," Lindy said.

"Had my first Firewhiskey at eleven," he protested.

"Gideon," Lindy said in a warning voice.

"All right, all right," he said as he started to down the cup. "Sorry, Kid," he said, though he winked at Jane when he said it.

Jane smiled. She pretended to walk away until Lindy was gone. Then, she turned right back around to Gideon. He grinned.

"Here ya go, Sweetheart," he said, corking the bottle and giving the whole thing to Jane. "For the trouble," he said, though Jane knew it was because he loved doing the exact opposite of what his girlfriend told him to do.

"Thanks, Gideon," she said happily.

"Now don't drink all that by yourself. Don't want you to get sick," he said, still smiling.

"I won't," she promised before walking up the stairs to the boys dormitories.

She found the door with a sign that read: _Second Year Boys_ and knocked.

"Come in," Remus' voice floated through the door.

Jane walked in and closed the door behind her. Remus was sitting on his bed with his textbook and notes sprawled everywhere.

"You're missing the party," Jane stated.

Remus looked up at her and then back down at his notes.

"Shame," he said.

"I was wondering if I could study with you," she said.

"Oh, yeah, sure," he said, manoeuvring things to make room for her at the foot of his bed.

Jane happily crawled onto the end of the bed and sat down.

"What's that?" Remus asked.

"Firewhiskey," she said. "You ever tried it?"

"No."

"Do you want to?"

"Not particularly."

Jane laughed a little.

"That's what _I_ thought, but it's really good, just try it," she said, holding out the bottle to her friend. "Just one taste."

Remus shrugged and took the bottle from Jane.

"Not bad," he said after taking a sip and handing it back to her.

* * *

"No no no no no," Jane said, trying to stop laughing.

By this time, the two had almost depleted the bottle of its contents.

"Yes, it is!" Remus said, smiling. "You're wrong; I'm right. Here! I–I have it in my notes; I'll show you."

"Well, you wrote it down wrong," Jane argued.

"Well, I saw it in the book too," he said.

As soon as he opened the book, however, he seemed to have forgotten how to read, and the words were all jumbled. He shut the book back and threw it off the bed.

"Well, it's in there," he said.

Jane laughed again.

"I think we're done studying."

"I agree," Remus said.

The two had been like this for a while, stumbling over their words and laughing at nothing, and everything. Five minutes before, Remus had stated, "I think we're drunk," to which Jane had responded with a laugh and another sip of the Firewhiskey.

They were still sitting on Remus' bed, though most of his notes, and now his book, were on the ground. Jane had never felt so happy. Why hadn't she been drinking this stuff her whole life?

"Oh, guess–guess what Sirius told us last n-night," Remus slurred.

"Wha'?"

"That he snogged Hellen McDowell," he said.

"That girl from–from–from…" For some reason, Jane couldn't remember the name of the house.

"Ravenclaw," Remus said.

Jane snapped her fingers and nodded.

"Yeah, that's it, innit?" Jane said, and then a thought popped into her head, as so many were doing at the moment. "'Ave you ever kissed anyone?"

"Have _you?_"

"Tha's–tha's not fair. I asked you first," Jane said shaking her head slowly.

"No," Remus said. "Your turn."

Jane started laughing again, though she didn't know why.

She shook her head. Then, her eyes got wide as yet _another_ thought popped into her little intoxicated mind.

"Oh, Merlin! I 'ave a _great_ idea," she said in a very serious voice. "_You_ 'aven't ever kissed anyone, and _I_ 'aven't ever kissed anyone. So we should jus' kiss _each other!_"

It was completely rational inside of her head right then.

"Th-that is a good idea," said Remus, who was as equally intoxicated, "'cause we're really good friends and all."

"God, I'm a frickin' genius," Jane said.

"Yeah."

"Okay. Okay. Okay," Jane said, trying to think of how they were going to do this, because all of the sudden, something as simple as kissing seemed very complicated.

"So–so I just, I just kiss you," Remus said.

Jane took a second to process the words, because suddenly there were two of him.

"Oh, right! Yeah," she said.

"Okay," he said.

Jane sat on her knees as Remus moved a little closer, knocking the rest of his notes off of his bed. And before either of them thought anything of it, they kissed, just a sweet and innocent peck on the lips.

As soon as they pulled apart and looked at each other, they both doubled over with laughter.

"Oh, my god," Jane said between laughs. "I can't believe we actually did that!"

For some reason, it kept getting progressively funnier until they literally could not breath for laughing so hard. Finally, they managed to calm down long enough for Jane to realise how tired she felt.

"I'm gonna take a nap," she said.

She got slowly off of Remus' bed and almost fell flat on her face. She grabbed tight into one of the bedposts. The room was tilting beneath her. James' bed, which was not even ten feet away, suddenly seemed like a very long walk. Fortunately, though she stumbled a few times, Jane was able to make it to the bed and fell onto it, letting darkness consume her.


	24. Chapter 23

Chapter 23:

"Jane, wake up."

Jane was being shaken awake by James. She wanted to punch him. Why didn't he just let her sleep? Her stomach was killing her, and her head wasn't feeling too great either. She buried her face into his pillow.

"Leavemealone," she said, her voice muffled by the pillow and slurred from the Firewhiskey.

"Jane, it's late; you need to go back to your dorm," James explained.

Jane groaned and sat up; she immediately fell back down on the bed.

"I don't, I don't think I can make it," she said. "The room's too shaky."

Jane heard Sirius laugh.

"Are–are you _drunk?_" James asked.

"Maybe, maybe jus' a–a little," she said, indicating "a little" with her index finger and thumb. "And it's _his_ fault," she added, pointing in Sirius' general direction.

James looked at Sirius.

"Whoa!" he said. "I only gave her half a cup! You can't get drunk off that!" he defended.

"Looks like someone gave her a whole bottle," said their other roommate, Frank Longbottom, as he picked up the almost empty bottle.

James looked at Sirius and raised an eyebrow.

"Don't look at me!" he said, holding up his hands.

"Jane, who gave you that?" James asked.

"One of the Prewett twins," she half-mumbled.

"And you drank the _whole thing?_" Peter asked.

"No, I'm not stupid," she said. "Remus drank some too."

The boys looked at Remus, who was passed out on his own bed. Jane could hear Sirius laughing again.

"That's still a lot, Jane," James said.

Jane wanted them to stop talking. Her head was killing her. She started to cry a little.

"I know," she whined, putting her hands up to her head. "My head hurts, James."

He rubbed her back a little.

"No kidding," he said. "Well, we can't take you to Madam Pomfrey; she'll know you're drunk, and all of Gryffindor could get into trouble."

"I think, I–I think I'm gonna be sick," Jane said, sitting back up a little bit.

James' eyes got wide.

"Not on _my_ bed you're not," he said, trying to help her stand up.

James and Sirius, who was still sniggering a little, helped Jane to the bathroom. There, she proceeded to heave into the toilet bowl.

"Hold her hair back for her," James said.

Sirius looked at Jane and then to James.

"I'm not holding her hair back; _you_ hold her hair back!"

In the midst of Jane's thoughts, she was able to pick out a few choice ones. A) this was really embarrassing. B) if she puked on her hair because of them, then she was going to kick them in places that shouldn't be kicked. C) she was _never_ drinking again. And D) did she really kiss Remus?

James pulled her hair back just in time for her to expel all the contents of her stomach into the toilet bowl, which was mostly just the Firewhiskey.

Yup, definitely never drinking again.

After that, she managed to stumble over to the sink and wash out her mouth with water. She felt a little better, but not too much. And Sirius was _still_ laughing.

"Sirius, I swear, if ya don't stop laughin', I'm gonna hex you," she said.

This caused him to laugh harder.

"Please, you couldn't even tell your wand from a stick on the ground right now," he said, "let alone hex me."

"Come on, Jane," said James as he helped her out of the bathroom.

He walked Jane to his bed and pulled back the blankets for her. She crawled into the bed, and he pulled the blankets over her. She buried her face back into the pillow. James lay down next to her on top of the blankets.

And once again, she fell asleep.

* * *

The next morning, Jane was awoken by voices. Loud voices. Merlin, she wished they would be quiet. She moved a little.

"Well, look who's up," Sirius said, beaming at her.

"Don't shout at me right now," Jane said.

Sirius just grinned and walked over to the window. He slowly drew the curtains open, and bright sunlight flooded the room.

For a moment, Jane thought that she was going blind. She put her face back into the pillow and groaned. Her head felt like it had been split open.

"How're you feeling, Jane?" James asked from somewhere across the room.

"Dreadful."

She heard him snigger a bit.

"What time is it?" she asked.

"It's almost lunch time," Sirius said. "You slept right through breakfast."

Jane was just thankful that it wasn't a school day, and she continued to lay there.

Later in the day, when "dreadful" turned into "bearable," Jane finally got out of bed. She looked over to see that Remus was laying awake in his bed. She stayed quiet for a second, before deciding that she should say something.

"Hey, uh, Remus?"

"Hmm?" he asked.

"Do you, um, remember what happened last night?" she asked, not looking at him.

"I don't remember if you don't remember," he said.

Jane laughed a little.

"Deal," she said. "So we're still friends, right?"

He smiled a little.

"I can't _remember_ why we wouldn't be."


	25. Chapter 24

Chapter 24:

Jane and Remus, luckily, we're good enough friends to let what had happened go. They had both agreed to keep it between them, though admittedly, Jane had written to Sarah about it, not that Sarah could really tell anyone about it.

Sarah had somewhat scolded Jane when she had told her about that night.

_I can't believe you did that!_ she had written. She had even called the boys "bad influences," which Jane told her was untrue.

Jane had been doing better on her letter writing to Sarah, though not as good as she could've done. But none of that mattered today, because December the twentieth had finally come, and she was on the train home.

Sirius and James told Jane to keep practising her flying over the break. She then reminded them that she couldn't very well fly around her Muggle neighbourhood on a broom.

The school year was going by so fast already. Too fast for Jane. If time kept going this fast, it'd be summer again in no time, and she'd be bored out of her skull once again.

Lately, she had been wanting to stay at Hogwarts more and more. Of course, it caused her a lot of guilt. Sarah was always so anxious to see her, but Jane just didn't _want_ to go home. She _did_ miss Sarah and her mum and dad but maybe not as much as she should have. She didn't like thinking about it; it made her feel like an awful person.

She had talked to Lily and Remus about it; they knew exactly how she felt. She was happy that she wasn't the only one that felt this way. It made her feel like it was a normal thing, and she felt a little less guilty for it.

"I can't believe it's almost Christmas," James said, stretching out his legs, accidentally kicking Peter in the process.

"I know," said Sirius, who was going home with James again, "time just flies by nowadays, doesn't it?"

Jane nodded in agreement. Then, she thought about the row she had had with her mother the last time she'd seen her. She wondered if her mum remembered it. She wonder if her mum would bring it up. Had she told Jane's father?

Jane didn't know why she was thinking about it out of the blue; she just was. She did that sometimes, got off on a tangent in her brain, remembering things that happened, imagining things that would.

"So what's your family planning for the holidays?" Remus had asked Jane.

She shook out of her reverie and shrugged.

"I don't know. Christmas tree, presents, that's it really," she said.

James looked jealous.

"You don't have family reunions with cousins and stuff?" he asked.

Jane shook her head.

"Haven't got any cousins or aunts or uncles," Jane said; her parents came from a long line of only children.

"What about grandparents?" he asked.

"Mum's parents died when I was little, and Dad's parents don't talk to him because he married my mum. They're really snobby from what I gather. I don't really know. I've never met them."

"You're so lucky," James said. "Mum likes to throw a big family party every Christmas."

She laughed.

"Well, at least Sirius gets to endure the torture with you," she said.

"Hey, as long as it's not _my_ family, I'm not complaining," Sirius said.

"I'm just excited for the food," Remus said. "It's my favourite part of Christmas."

Jane laughed as the boys all talked about their favourite and least favourite things about the holidays. When it came to her, she just shrugged. Christmas was Christmas. She didn't hate anything about it, but she didn't especially have anything that she absolutely _loved_ either. It was just another day, except that she got presents and better food. She had enjoyed it a lot more when she was a little kid. It had lost its "magic."

That was exactly Jane's problem. That was why she didn't especially care for going home. Home was nothing new to her. She didn't hate it, but it wasn't her _favourite_ place either. If she took someplace like Hogwarts or Hogsmeade, Jane could think of twenty different things that she _loved_ about the place off the top of her head. Home had no magic. Home was just…boring.

Once again, Jane felt guilty. Guilty because hanging out with Sarah and spending time with her family shouldn't be "boring." It was something that she should look forward to, but she just didn't anymore, not like she used to.

When the train came to a stop, Jane hugged her friends goodbye and walked through the barrier. She spotted her father. Her mum was not with him.

Jane didn't say anything about it until they were in the car.

"Where's mum?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"She's sick," he said.

"When'd that happen?"

"A few days ago."

"Of course," Jane said, shaking her head and looking out of the window.

Her father looked at her, but didn't say anything.

"Doesn't it ever get on your nerves?" Jane asked. "I mean, she does this _all the time!_ It's kind of annoying really."

Her father shook his head.

"She's sick, Jane."

Jane let out a bitter, humourless laugh.

"If she's so _sick_ then why doesn't she just go see a doctor?"

"You don't understand—"

"Yes, I do," Jane argued. "I understand that she _chooses_ to not get help. And I understand that that's a completely selfish thing to do when you have responsibilities."

Twelve years and Jane had never spoken her mind about her mother's illness until now. She could feel the adrenaline pumping through her again; she knew her father _hated_ talking about this. She wanted to see what his limits were.

"Your mother's not selfish," he said calmly.

Jane scoffed.

"Yes, she is! I can't believe you just said that! After you've practically _begged_ her to get help, how can you even say that? She is _so_ selfish!"

"That's enough, Jane. You shouldn't talk that way about your mother," he said.

Jane made a disparaging noise.

"What? I can't tell the _truth?_" she said sarcastically.

"I _said_ that's enough!" he said, looking at his daughter.

Jane visibly rolled her eyes.

"What has gotten into you?" he wanted to know.

"Nothing," Jane mumbled, looking back out the window.

When they got home, Jane went straight up to her room and packed some clothes. She walked out of her room.

"I'm going to Sarah's," she called to her father as she walked down the stairs.

"You just got home," he said.

"Yeah, so?"

"Did you at least say hello to your mother?"

"She could say hello to _me_ if she really wanted to," Jane said.

"Go tell your mother that you're home," he told her.

"Why?"

"Because she misses you!"

"Doesn't seem to act like it," she said.

"Stop it, Jane."

"Stop what?" she asked, smirking a bit.

"Just go tell your mother hello," her father said in an exasperated tone.

Jane huffed and walked back up the stairs. She opened the door to her parents' bedroom to find her mother sleeping soundly.

"Hey, I'm home," she said quickly before shutting the door again.

She turned to see her father.

"Jane," he said in a warning tone.

"What?" Jane said. "I did what you told me to; I can't help it that she's asleep all the time."

Jane slipped past her father and down the stairs.

"Jane, come back here," he called after her.

She walked straight out the door, pretending that she hadn't heard him. As she walked down the street to Sarah's house, she grinned to herself.


	26. Chapter 25

Chapter 25:

The next day, Sarah and her mother were going to get Sarah a puppy. Sarah had been wanting a puppy ever since Jane could remember, and this Christmas, Ms. Camden finally gave in.

Jane was supposed to be going to ask her dad if she could go with them; she had already told Sarah that she would. Unfortunately, she had no clue if he would let her.

She kind of felt bad about how she had acted the day before. Her parents weren't bad people, and she shouldn't have said any of those things.

_Well, it's their own fault,_ said something in the back of her mind. _Dad's a pushover, and Mum_ is _selfish sometimes._

Jane pushed the thought away.

"Hey, Sarah, come with me to ask my dad if I can go," Jane said; she knew her father couldn't say no to Sarah.

They walked to her house, and Jane poked her head in the door and looked around before entering.

"Hey, Dad," she said.

Her father peered at her over his reading glasses and sat down the morning paper. She could tell that he was still mad at her.

"Sarah wants to know if I can go with her and her mum to help her pick out a puppy," Jane said, making sure to throw Sarah's name in there.

Mr. Hensworth looked to Sarah and then back to Jane.

"Where at?"

"A pet shop in Winchester," Sarah answered for Jane.

He pondered over it for a moment.

"All right."

_Pushover,_ thought the voice again.

"But you and I are going to have a talk when you get home, do you understand?" he said, pointing to Jane.

"Yes, sir," she said.

When they walked out of the house, Sarah gave Jane a curious look.

"What'd you do?"

Jane smirked a bit.

"Nothing; he just overreacts sometimes," she lied.

After that, they climbed into Ms. Camden's car and drove the fifteen minute drive to Winchester.

After Sarah had gotten over the fact that Jane had been drunk at the time, she was very jealous that Jane had already kissed someone.

"I feel like I'm _never_ going to get a guy to kiss me," Sarah said quietly so as to keep her mother from hearing.

"We didn't use _tongue_ or anything," Jane whispered back to Sarah.

"But you still _kissed_ him," Sarah pointed out. "Is he cute?"

Jane thought for a second. Remus wasn't bad looking. He was one of those people whose personality makes or breaks how attractive they are. He was nice enough, and he could be funny whenever he really wanted.

Jane nodded.

"Yeah, I guess so," she said.

"You _guess so?_" Sarah asked.

"Well, he's one of my best friends, isn't he? I've never really thought about how cute he was before."

Sarah got quiet for a second, but Jane didn't know why. Jane looked at her funny.

"You okay?"

"Yeah," Sarah said, putting on a smile. "Still, I think you should've kissed that James boy."

* * *

Sarah came home with a brand new, chocolate lab puppy, that she named Max. Jane stayed over at Sarah's for a while after they got back. She wanted to play with Max, but she also didn't want to go home to see her dad just yet.

_It's not even fair that he's mad at me,_ the little voice in the back of her head thought, _I was just speaking my mind. Am I not allowed to have an opinion anymore?_

She waited until late in the afternoon to walk back down to her house. She braced herself as she walked through the door, but what greeted her was not what she had expected.

She smelt food, which meant that her mother was cooking, which meant that her mother was actually _up_.

She walked into the kitchen to find her mother stirring something in a pot on the stove. Her mother looked over at her and smiled.

"I was wondering when you were going to come home!" her mother exclaimed happily as she hugged her.

Jane smiled slightly.

"I must've missed you yesterday."

_No kidding,_ thought the little voice.

"Where's Dad?" Jane asked, walking over to see what her mother was cooking.

"Oh, he's gone to the market for me. He should be back any minute now."

Jane nodded.

"Do you need any help?" she asked, figuring that she should try and be nice.

"Oh, I would love that," her mum said.

When Jane's father got home, he seemed to be in a pleasant mood, and after dinner had passed, Jane realised that he forgot all about the talk they were supposed to have. Still, she decided to stay in her room for the rest of the night incase her dad looked at her and was suddenly reminded of it.

So, she walked up to her room and shut the door behind her. She took her Thin Lizzy album out of her record player and searched through all her other ones until she found what she was looking for. _Abbey Road_ by the Beatles.

It was one of the only two Beatle albums she had (the other one being their last album, _Let It Be_). Sirius had talked about them so much at school, that she just felt the need to go out and buy the rest of their albums too.

_Here Comes the Sun_ was her favourite song on _Abbey Road_. It always made her feel light and happy.

She put the album on and lay on her bed, just staring at the ceiling. After a while, she got up and walked around the room, looking around at the walls. She really needed to redecorate or something. Maybe she'd put up some posters.

What she really wanted was to redo her room in red and gold. She'd have to ask her parents about that this summer. Right now, her room was dreadfully boring.

Later that night, as Jane lay awake in her bed, unable to go to sleep, she listened to her parents argue about the only thing that they ever really argued about. She couldn't help but feel a little responsible, especially after her father brought her name up.

"I think this whole thing is starting to affect Jane," he said.

"What are you talking about? Jane's fine," her mother said.

"It's affecting her attitude towards us, Mary. Jane's a smart girl, and she's at an old enough age to kind of understand what's going on. She understands that you're choosing to—"

"I didn't _choose _to be this way," her mother interrupted.

"No, but you're choosing to not get help, and she sees that. And it's causing her to lash out."

"Why would that cause her to lash out?"

"A loss of respect for us, maybe? I don't know," he said.

"All kids Jane's age go through a rebellious stage. I have nothing to do with it."

"Oh, no? Because the first row she had was with _you, _and the second time she acted this way she was talking about _you, _so you wanna try that again?"

"Well, what do you want me to do, Patrick? I'm doing the best I can! I'm not going to a doctor that's just going to put me on medication that probably won't work anyway. It's not that big of a deal—"

"Not that big of a deal? Mary, you stay hidden in our room for days at a time just sleeping. That's a problem."

"It doesn't hurt anyone, does it? And I'm not taking any medication or going to a shrink. I'm not crazy."

"No one said that you were—"

"That's enough; I don't want to talk about it anymore," Jane's mother said.

And that's where the conversation stopped. Jane's father didn't even say another word after that.

_Pushover, _thought Jane.


	27. Chapter 26

**A/N: The web page I've created for this fanfic now has a new look and a new feature! You can now see pictures of some of Jane's belongings mentioned in the story. Again, if you want to check that out, the link to the page is in my profile bio.**

* * *

Chapter 26:

After the holidays, and after promising that she would be a lot more consistent in writing to Sarah, Jane met up with James and Sirius on Platform 9 and 3/4. They both always looked so happy when they came back from James' house. Jane silently wished that she could've gone with them, which just led to her feeling guilty again.

Once they were on the train, she had a few new pictures to show them, mostly they were of Max, but James liked looking at them anyway. She had even gotten her own camera for Christmas. It wasn't a Polaroid like Sarah's; it was a new KMZ Zorki 4, and she absolutely loved it.

Once Remus and Peter walked into the compartment, Jane snapped a picture of the four boys.

"What I don't understand is how to make the pictures move whenever I decide to develop them," Jane said, looking at the camera.

"You have to develop them in a special potion," Remus told her.

"Well, I don't know how to do that," she said.

"I think there's a place in Hogsmeade that develops pictures. I _know_ there's a place in Diagon Alley that does," James said, flipping through Jane's photo album again.

"That's good, because I'm going to be taking _lots_ of pictures," she said, smiling.

"You're not going to follow us around all the time with that camera, are you?" Sirius asked. "_That_ could get annoying."

"He's just upset that you might not always catch his good side," Remus teased.

Sirius looked offended.

"_All_ my sides are good," he stated arrogantly.

Jane rolled her eyes at him.

"Why would I want to take pictures of _you_ anyway?" she said. "This camera's new! My parents would be very mad at me if I _broke_ it."

For once, Sirius had no smart remark or witty comeback. Jane smirked at him and received a high-five from Remus.

"Good one, Jane," he said, laughing.

* * *

"No! No pictures!" Marlene said as they were getting ready for bed.

"Why not? Everyone else has taken one!" Jane said.

"I look terrible right now! Did you _not_ notice the zit on my face?"

Marlene pointed to a tiny pimple on her left cheek. Alice squinted her eyes to look at it.

"Is _that_ what that is? I thought you were growing another head," Alice teased.

Marlene gasped and ran to the bathroom mirror to examine her face. Jane snapped a picture of Marlene anyway when she wasn't looking.

"Lemme see that," Alice said.

Jane handed over the camera.

"Smile!" she said, snapping a picture of Jane.

Jane laughed as Alice went on a picture snapping frenzy, much to Marlene's horror. Jane couldn't wait to get them developed.

"Aw! Who's puppy?" said Mary, who was looking through Jane's photo album with Lily.

"Oh, that's Sarah's new puppy. His name's Max," she said, sitting down on her bed.

After a while, Alice came back with Jane's camera.

"I'll _pay_ you to send me the one of Marlene tripping over her suitcase when you get them developed," Alice said, laughing, and Jane heard Marlene audibly scoff from across the room.

Now, she _really_ couldn't wait to get them developed.

"I'll have to make multiple copies of that one," Jane teased. "One for everybody in second year!"

"Haha, very funny," Marlene said sarcastically. "I'll have you know, Alice, that I could easily ruin your life."

"Oh, yeah? How so?" Alice challenged.

"I _happen_ to know who it is you've been crushing on for the past month and a half now."

"Who?" Jane said, interested at this point.

"Frank Longbottom," Marlene said.

"He's kinda cute," Mary noted, joining in on the conversation.

"So?" Alice said. "Tell him. I'll just deny it."

Alice could do stuff like that. She could tell a flat out lie and have anyone believe it. If Marlene told the whole school that Alice liked Frank, Alice could have them all thinking the exact opposite within a day's time. Jane wished she could do that.

"No more pictures of me until I say so!" Marlene said before stalking off to her bed.

Jane and Alice sniggered at her. Marlene was so full of herself.

Jane had missed this over the holidays. She had missed Marlene's dramatic tendencies. She had missed _laughing_ at Marlene's dramatic tendencies. She had missed talking to her friends. She had missed having Henry jump into her lap so that she would pet him. She had missed all of it.

Even more, she had missed the magic. She had missed Quidditch practises with the team. She missed her midnight practises with James and Sirius on the full moons. She had missed complaining about homework with Remus. She had missed her trips to Hogsmeade. She had even missed having Sirius tease her.

How was she supposed to _like_ going home, where nothing exciting ever happened? Home was feeling guilty every time she saw Sarah. Home was wanting to yell a her parents for no good reason. Home was listening to her mum try and justify why she wouldn't get help. Home was wishing that she was back at Hogwarts.

Home wasn't home. _Hogwarts_ was home.


	28. Chapter 27

Chapter 27:

Almost immediately, Jane forgot about her promise to write to Sarah. Two weeks had passed before she suddenly remembered. Which led to even more guilt on her behalf. She was currently in the middle of her double Defence Against the Dark Arts class, trying to find something to write to Sarah about.

So far, all she had was: _Dear Sarah, I'm so so so sorry that I've forgotten to write._

"What're you doing?" Sirius asked from beside her.

"Trying to think of something to write. Now, leave me alone," Jane retorted.

Jane had started the year in that class sitting beside Remus. But because James and Sirius had managed to accidentally make one of their inkwells explode during mid-November, Jane had received the joy of having to swap seats with James for the rest of the year. Their new Defence teacher, Professor Connolly, didn't like nonsense in his class, and the students didn't like _him_ in the class.

"You've got a real novel going on there," Sirius remarked sarcastically as he looked at all she had written.

"I can't think of anything to write about!" Jane exclaimed in a frustrated tone.

"Well, then _why_ are you writing to her? Nothing exciting's happened. Write to her when something does," Sirius explained as though it were that simple.

"You don't get it," Jane said. "Did ya know that I forgot to send her a letter on her birthday this year? What kind of friend does that?"

"Well, send her one now."

"Her birthday was in _October_, Sirius; I can't very well send her one now, can I?" Jane said.

"I still don't understand why you have to write to her when nothing's happened," Sirius said.

"I promised her that I'd write more than I have been," Jane explained. "I already forgot, and it's been two weeks."

"Why doesn't she just write to _you_ if she's the one wanting to talk to you all the time?" Sirius asked, doodling on his parchment.

"It's not _her_ fault that I have to go here. I kinda feel bad about it, you know?"

Sirius stopped doodling and looked at her.

"No, I _don't_ know," he said. "It's not her fault you have to go here, but it's not _your_ fault either. Would you rather be going to some Muggle school?"

"No, but I—"

"Then, why feel guilty about it?" he asked.

"But she's been my best friend ever since we were little," Jane explained.

"So?" Sirius asked. "It's not _your_ fault you're a witch. It's not _your_ fault you have to keep it all a secret from her. And it's not _your_ fault that there's nothing to write about. If anything, it's _her_ fault for not understanding that you don't have to write to her _every day._"

"How many friends do you actually _have_ at home?" Jane asked.

"Not counting my cousin Andromeda? Zero," he said.

Jane went back to her letter.

"Well, see there? You don't understand what it's like to have to leave your friends."

"I leave you guys every summer," he said.

"Yeah, and you write to us," Jane said.

"Oh, come off it. I wrote you _one_ letter, Janie, and that was because I was bored, and James told me to."

Jane rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, well, you're a git, and summer only last three months. School lasts _nine_," Jane said.

"With breaks in between," Sirius pointed out.

"We get, like, _two_ breaks in all of nine months," she said.

"Look, would you rather be _here_ or at home with Sarah?" he asked.

Jane was caught off guard by the question.

"That's not a fair question," she said quietly.

"Oh, why not? It's a simple yes or no—"

"Because you don't know what goes on in my life when I'm not here," Jane blurted out, and from the look on Sirius' face, she immediately regretted it.

She looked back at her paper to avoid his questioning gaze. The way she had said it had made it sound like she had an awful life. Her life wasn't awful. Sure, it wasn't _perfect_, but her life wasn't _awful_, like she might've just made it sound. She felt terrible for having said it. She didn't know why she had.

"Are you okay, Janie?" he asked on a bit more serious note.

"I'm fine," she said.

"Then, why are you crying?"

Jane hadn't even noticed the few tears that escaped from her eyes. She didn't _know_ why she was crying. Honestly, there was nothing to cry _about_. She was just making this whole thing look a lot worse than it actually was. And once more, she felt guilty for it.

"Just, stop asking me questions, and let me write my letter," she said, almost harshly, as though it were _his_ fault she had been crying.

* * *

That afternoon, after she had finally sent off Sarah's letter, Jane walked along the edge of the Black Lake by herself. She was trying not to think. Every time she thought, she ended up feeling guilty about something or other. Guilty for forgetting to write to Sarah. Guilty for being mad at her parents for no reason. Guilty because she didn't ever want to go home, and she didn't really understand _why_.

"James is looking for you, you know?" came Remus' voice from behind her.

She didn't look at him.

"Yeah, I know," she said. "Just came down here to clear my thoughts."

Remus walked up beside her and put his hands in his pockets.

"Sirius said that you got pretty upset today in Defence," Remus said. "Care to share why?"

"Not really," Jane said, the only reason being was because _she_ didn't even know why she had gotten upset.

She was quiet for a moment.

"Remus," she said suddenly, "what's the worst thing you hate about Hogwarts?"

The question threw him. It was just so random.

"Um, I don't know. Homework?" he said, confused.

"Would you choose Hogwarts over home?" she asked.

"I–I don't know. It depends," he said.

This wasn't the answer she had been looking for. She began to chew the inside of her lip.

"Are you all right?" Remus asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

"Because you only do that when your worried about something," he said, talking about her lip biting.

Jane stopped doing it and sighed.

"Do you ever just not want to go home and not have a good reason for it?" she asked.

Remus shook his head. She instantly regretted bringing it up.

"Do you?" he asked.

She was silent for a while. She didn't know if she should tell the truth or not. The truth sounded absolutely selfish, in her opinion.

"All the time," she whispered.

"Well, there's always a reason for how we feel," Remus said, "whether we've figured it out yet or not."

"Well, I don't like it," Jane said. "I've always known why I feel the way I do, and I don't _like_ not knowing. If I don't know _why_, then I can't make sense out of it, and if I can't make sense out of it, I start to feel guilty about it, because I don't have any _reason_ to feel that way."

"Do you always have to know the reason for everything?"

"For this I do," she said. "I don't ever want to go home, and I don't know why. I mean, home's where Sarah is. Home's where Mum and Dad are, and I love them, but it's like I don't— care. And I feel awful for that."

"Maybe you're just not as close to them as you used to be," Remus said. "It's normal to grow apart."

"But I don't _want_ to grow apart," she said. "That's my best friend. That's my _family_. What kind of person am I if I don't want to be around them?"

"You're right; you're a dreadful person," Remus said. "You might as well just hate yourself."

Jane looked at him, shocked.

"How could you say that to me?" she said. "I'm not a _dreadful_ person. It's not _my_ fault I feel this way; I can't help how I feel, I just do!"

Remus smiled at her, and he gave her a second to reflect back on what she had just said. Once it sank in, she shook her head and smiled a bit.

"You're too clever for you're own good," she said.

"I know," he said, proudly. "Now, it's almost dinner time, and I'm starving."

Jane laughed.

"All you boys are _always_ starving; I don't understand where it all _goes,_" she noted, poking him in the stomach as they walked back up to the castle.


	29. Chapter 28

Chapter 28:

"No! We're already late enough because James forgot his homework. We're _not_ stopping by the kitchens first."

"Aw, come on, Janie! I'm starving!" Sirius whined.

"We _just_ ate breakfast. _How_ can you be hungry?"

"I just am."

"The kitchens aren't even on the way to History of Magic."

It was now February, and Jane was over feeling guilty for the time being. Right now, she, James, and Sirius were rushing to get to History of Magic. Halfway to class, James had realised that he left his homework up in his dorm. Remus and Peter had went on to class while Jane and Sirius had agreed to go back with him. Jane was now regretting that decision.

"Would you slow down?" Sirius said to Jane, who was practically running. "We're already late, no matter how fast you get there now."

Jane sighed and slowed down a little bit.

"I should've went with Remus and Peter," she mumbled to herself.

"What was that?" Sirius asked.

"Nothing," she said.

"Well, well, well," came a voice from behind them.

They all stopped in their tracks. Jane closed her eyes and sighed. Professor Connolly, by this point in the year, was the most hated teacher at Hogwarts; it was like he was always out to catch students doing something that they shouldn't be. And ever since the exploding inkwell accident back in November, James and Sirius were his favourite targets. And there he was, standing behind them when they should have been in class.

"What do you three think you're doing?" asked Professor Connolly.

"Going to class, sir," Jane said, hoping that the two boys wouldn't say anything.

"You're a little late," he said.

"I know, sir. See, James accidenta—"

"No excuses, Miss Hensworth. Thirty points from Gryffindor," he said.

"Thirty?!" James exclaimed.

"Thirty-five now."

Jane stepped back onto James' foot. It was bad enough that they had gotten _any_ points taken, but he was making it worse.

"Now go to class," he said, walking away.

Jane was about to respond with a "yes, sir," but unfortunately, Sirius spoke first.

"What do you _think_ we're trying to do, arsehole?"

Jane inwardly groaned and covered her face with her hand.

"You just earned you and your friends a detention, Mr. Black," Professor Connolly said.

"But, Professor—" Jane started.

"This Saturday, seven in the morning, my office. Now, go to class," he said.

Jane just kind of stood there with her mouth open. Despite the fact that James and Sirius had had plenty of detentions during their time at Hogwarts, Jane had never gotten one. _And_ the school was going to write her parents about it, so there was no hiding it.

Jane glared at Sirius.

"What?" he said.

"You _like_ ruining my life; it's fun for you, isn't it?"

* * *

That Saturday, when Jane should have been sleeping in like everyone else in her dorm, she, James, and Sirius dragged themselves down to Connolly's office.

"I can't believe you got me a detention," Jane said, arms crossed, not looking at him as they walked.

Sirius rolled his eyes.

"You've been saying that since Thursday," he said.

"And it's _still_ unbelievable."

"Well, he _is_ an arsehole; the whole school says so."

"Not to his _face!_" Jane scolded.

"It won't be that bad," James said. "He'll probably have us clean one of the classrooms without magic or something."

"That's not the point," Jane said. "My parents already think I'm turning into some kind of rebel without a cause, and now, I have a detention!"

"You? Rebellious? That's a laugh," Sirius said.

"Shut up," she said, knocking on the door to Connolly's office.

James hadn't been far off when he guessed that they'd have to clean the classroom. They had to clean the trophy room, which wasn't strenuous labour, but it was still going to take them a while.

The good thing about it, if there was one, was that it was virtually unsupervised. Professor Connolly had just told them to start cleaning and left. He had said he'd come back to check on them, but James, who had had many detentions with Connolly, said that he was lying.

For the first half of polishing trophies and dusting shelves, Jane just listened to James and Sirius talk. She was still kind of mad that Sirius had actually got her landed in detention. What were her parents going to say when they got the letter?

"Mum wants to know if you're coming over for Easter this year," James said to Sirius after a while.

"Of course," Sirius said. "What am I supposed to do? Stay here?"

Jane groaned at the mention of the Easter holidays.

"What's wrong with you?" James asked.

"Mum and Dad are going to have a fit when I get home because of this stupid detention."

"That's two months from now," Sirius said.

"Doesn't matter. Mum remembers everything when she's not—"

Jane cut herself off. They didn't know about that.

Sirius looked like he was about to question her, but James spoke first.

"You could come to my house," he said excitedly.

"I would if I could, but my parents probably wouldn't let me, especially not after they learn I've got a detention."

"Tell them that you're staying at school," he said.

"I have no _reason_ to stay at school," Jane pointed out.

"Lie to them. Tell them you've got an extra credit assignment to work on or something," James said. "Then, you could just come home with me and Sirius."

"Wait! I have to deal with her over Easter now too?" Sirius teased.

"Be quiet," she said, throwing her polishing rag in his face.

Jane thought about it for a second. Her parents, not to mention, Sarah, would probably be upset if she didn't come home. On the _other_ hand, James and Sirius were two of her best friends, and she'd get to be around an all wizard family; she wouldn't have to hide anything.

"Would your mum let me?" Jane finally asked.

"Of course she would," James said. "I just have to tell her is all."

Jane thought about the possibility of her parents finding out, but how could they? They weren't there, so they wouldn't know if _she_ was or not. She nodded.

"All right," she said, smiling.

"Good," James said.

"Yeah, great," Sirius said, throwing Jane's rag back at her. "But on an even better note, Hufflepuff's Quidditch team sucks this year. I can't wait to flatten them next weekend."

Jane shook her head and went back to cleaning. She went from dreading the Easter holidays to wishing that they would hurry up and get there.

* * *

A few weeks later, at the beginning of March, Professor McGonagall had them all sign up for electives for their third year. Jane sat in the common room, staring at the list of new classes. She was required to pick at least two, but she did not know what to pick.

"What are you guys picking?" she asked.

James and Sirius both shrugged. Peter was glancing at James' paper, waiting for him to mark some classes. Remus looked as though he was having the same problem as Jane.

"What's Arithmancy?" Jane asked, looking through the list.

"Numbers," Sirius said.

"That sounds easy enough," she said, picking up her quill.

"If you value your mental state, I wouldn't mark that," James stated. "Sirius is being a git. Arithmancy is about the magical properties of numbers. There are a lot of essays and complicated number charts. You don't want to take that."

"Oh," Jane said, putting her quill back down in disappointment.

"All right," Sirius said. "I'm taking Care of Magical Creatures, and…"

He didn't say anything. Jane stared at him.

"And?" she said.

"Hold on a minute; I'm thinking," he said, looking down at his paper. "You know, I've been thinking about taking Muggle Studies just to piss off my mum."

Jane watched James mark down Care of Magical Creatures, and she did the same. She liked animals.

"I think it'd be interesting," Remus said.

"Trust me, there's nothing interesting about Muggles," Jane assured.

"Not when you've grown up as one," James said.

"You don't seriously find Muggles interesting, do you?" she asked him.

James only shrugged.

"A little," he said. "Besides, it'd probably be an easy grade."

"Well, you guys go right ahead, but I've had enough Muggle studies to last a lifetime," Jane said, looking through the list yet again.

"What about Divination then?" James said.

Sirius groaned.

"Not that," he said. "Do you know how rare it is for someone _actually _to be able to predict the future? Divination's a load of crap."

By this point, the five friends had all checked Care of Magical Creatures on their parchments. They all looked at each other for some sort of guidance.

"That's it," Remus said after a moment of complete silence, "I'm taking Muggle Studies."

Jane watched as he marked his paper. The others followed suit. Jane _really_ didn't want to take that class.

"What's Ancient Runes? That's just like translating things, right? So it's kind of like a foreign language, yeah?"

"I suppose so," James said.

"Well, I'm taking that," she said, checking Ancient Runes on her parchment. "I am _not_ taking Muggle Studies."

Sirius shrugged.

"Suit yourself," he said, rolling up his parchment.

"What are these down here?" Jane asked, pointing to the list of other classes down below the list they had chosen from.

"Oh, that's extra-curricular stuff, like Art and Music," Remus said.

"What's Ancient Magic?" she asked.

"Kind of like History," James said. "Tells you all about the Great Pyramids and Stonehenge and the wizards that built them and stuff."

"What's the difference between Art and Muggle Art?" she asked.

"You just never run out of questions, do you?" Sirius said, getting slightly annoyed.

She rolled her eyes at him.

"Can I sign up for one?" she asked.

Remus nodded.

"Why would you want to do that?" Sirius asked. "That means after classes are done, you'll have to go to _another_ class, while normal people are out enjoying the day. And you don't even get real credit for it."

"Says here that Art only meets on Tuesday afternoons from four to five," she said.

No matter what Sirius said, Jane had decided that she wasn't going to let him bully her out of taking it. She loved art. She wasn't the best at it, but she wasn't terrible either; she just needed a bit of work was all. Besides, she was interested in what this new, magic art class had to offer, seeing as how Muggle Art was an entirely different class of its own.

"Well, I'm taking it," she said, checking Art on her parchment before rolling it up.

"You're so weird," Sirius stated.

She pushed him aside to go turn in her parchment to McGonagall, happy with her selections.


	30. Chapter 29

**A/N****: I just wanted to let you all know that it will be a while before Jane even ****_likes_**** Sirius. I am going to go through all of their years at Hogwarts. This story (as stated in the summary) is about Jane, not about her and Sirius' relationship, though I promise that that ****_will_**** be part of it. You just have to have some patience. Thank you all for your wonderful comments and reviews.**

* * *

Chapter 29:

By the time the sixteenth of April had rolled around, Jane was feeling pretty good about everything. She had turned thirteen back in March, and she thought it was so cool to officially be a teenager. She had successfully lied to her parents. She was going to see what James' home was like.

She had completely forgotten about the angry letter from her parents about the detention she had received. She had forgotten about the last letter from Sarah that had begged her to come home and how she had not replied to it. She had forgotten how disappointed Sarah and her family must be. Jane was too happy to remember those things.

The whole train ride back to London, Jane was anxious. She was just so excited; she could hardly contain herself. Finally, here was a break from school that wouldn't be so boring!

All three of them were excited, though Sirius liked to jest about how he wished Jane weren't coming. James had already made plans to practise and had even bought a Quaffle in Hogsmeade; Jane guessed that their moonlit practises were not enough for him.

Remus and Peter were jealous to say the least. James had also invited them, but Peter's family had a trip planned, and Remus just said that he couldn't, which Jane found odd, seeing as how he often told her that he found home boring. She guessed that he just missed his family.

On the platform, they said their goodbyes to Remus and Peter before setting off to find James' mum. They found her easily enough by following the sound of her loud laugh through the crowds. When they reached her, they saw that she was talking to a blonde woman with a slim face.

"Oh, Jemma, this is my son, James. It's his second year. Gryffindor, just like his father," Mrs. Potter told the woman.

"Oh, he looks just like Charles did back in school," said the lady.

"James, Darling, this is Jemma Ashby. I went to school with her," Mrs. Potter said.

"Pleasure to meet you," James said politely, and Jane had to stifle a giggle at his expense.

"You too," Mrs. Ashby said. "He's such a gentleman, Cassandra. I wish Aaron would hurry up and get out here. I swear, he's always the last one off the train. He's in his fourth year now; Ravenclaw."

"Oh, Ravenclaw. 'Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure,'" Mrs. Potter recited fondly. "How I miss those days."

"And to think we couldn't wait to leave school," Mrs. Ashby said.

Mrs. Potter still had James standing in front of her. Jane and Sirius stood awkwardly off to the side.

"And who are these two?" Mrs. Ashby asked, smiling at them.

"Oh, these are some of James' little friends. Sirius Black and Jane Hensworth," Mrs. Potter said. "We're having them over for Easter."

"Oh, how lovely," Mrs. Ashby said. "They're just the cutest things."

Jane felt extremely awkward at this point.

"Oh, Cassandra, are you hosting the Easter party this year?"

Jane saw James rolled his eyes, and she smiled a bit.

"Oh, no. That's going to be at the Longbottoms' this year, are you going?"

"Of course. Timothy's already agreed to it. The trick is getting the kids to go. Aaron and Lydia would rather stay at home. I can't believe that next year Lydia will be starting her first year at Hogwarts," Mrs. Ashby said.

Jane listened to the two ladies talk. They seemed to never run out of topics, and Jane was growing increasingly aware of the depleting crowd. She was beginning to understand James' frustration with his mother's need to socialise.

Only after James practically pulled his mother away, they finally left the station. Out on the street, Mrs. Potter put out her hand, as though she were hailing a taxi, but to Jane's astonishment, a taxi was not what appeared before them. It was a purple triple decker which had seemingly appeared out of nowhere as things jumped out of its way.

Jane looked around at all the people on the street. None of them seemed phased. In fact, none of them seemed to notice that anything out of the ordinary had just happened. It was as if they _couldn't_ see it.

"In you go," Mrs. Potter said to them as someone quickly carried their suitcases on board.

"Diagon Alley," Mrs. Potter told the conductor before they took off.

"What're we going there for?" James asked.

"You need to be fitted for new dress robes," she said.

James groaned.

"You're not dragging us to that Easter party, are you?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

"Oh, James. It'll be fun," Mrs. Potter said.

"But Jane and Sirius don't have their dress robes," James said hopefully, and Jane was thinking that she didn't have any dress robes at all.

"Oh, I forgot about that," Mrs. Potter said.

James smiled a little, looking relieved.

"They'll have to be fitted too," Mrs. Potter said, washing away all the hope that James had had for not having to go to the party.

* * *

Mrs. Potter had bought them all dress robes. James and Sirius' kind of resembled tuxedos, and Jane walked out with a set of forget-me-not blue dress robes, which, for all intents and purposes, highly resembled that of Muggle dresses.

After that, they used what James had called the Floo Network. After watching Sirius be engulfed in green flames, Jane was a little scared, but James had managed to persuade her to do it. She ended up being throw out of a fireplace and onto the floor of a very large parlour.

She could hear Sirius laughing at her as she got up, but she was too dizzy to try and see where he was.

"Once the room stops spinning, I'm going to punch you in the face," she said, not liking the way she had been spun around so much during her travel.

Behind her, James calmly walked out of the fireplace, followed by his mother. Jane vaguely wondered how they had managed to stay upright before she looked around at the house.

"Your house is amazing," she said, looking around the parlour and up the white staircases.

"You haven't even seen all of it," James said.

"Doesn't matter," she said. "It beautiful."

Jane picked up her suitcase, which had been thrown out of the fireplace with her, and followed James and Sirius up the stairs.

"This'll be your room, Jane," James said, opening a door on the right of the hallway.

Jane walked in. The room was much bigger than the one she had back home. It had a four-poster queen sized bed, it's own bathroom, and a small balcony that looked out over the back garden. She had to make sure that her mouth wasn't hanging open; their house was like a mansion. She had known the Potters were rich, her own family was rather well-off too, but she hadn't known James' family was _this_ rich.

She sat her suitcase down beside the bed, and followed James and Sirius out of the room so that they too could put their things down.

She was going to have a great time here.


	31. Chapter 30

Chapter 30:

"Wake up, Janie," came a voice from somewhere inside of Jane's head.

"Wake up."

It sounded like it was getting louder.

"Hey, wake up!"

Jane groaned when she figured out that the voice wasn't in her head at all; it was just Sirius. She rolled over and placed her pillow over her head.

"Go away!"

"No, get up," he said pushing her a little.

Jane had to catch herself from rolling off of the bed. It was her first night at the Potters', and if _this_ was going to happen every night, then she was going to be a very angry person.

She opened her eyes and looked out the window. It was still dark outside. She frowned.

"What time is it?" she asked groggily.

"Two in the morning," James said from somewhere across the room.

She groaned again.

"_Why_ are you waking me up at two in the morning?" she asked.

"We couldn't sleep," James said.

"So you figured that _I_ shouldn't either?" she asked, sitting up in the bed.

She saw Sirius shrug before jumping off of the bed.

"We wanted to do something," James said.

"There isn't anything _to_ do at two o'clock in the morning," she half-whined, wanting to go back to sleep.

"Let's go flying or something," James said.

"You woke me up so we could 'go flying or something?'" Jane asked with a dead expression. "When I get enough energy, I'm gonna strangle the both of you."

She lay back down to just have Sirius rip away the duvet.

"No, get up!" he said.

Jane sighed into her pillow. Deciding that they weren't about to let her sleep anytime soon, she reluctantly crawled out of bed.

"Fine," she said, "but I want something to eat first."

"All right," James said as she walked past him muttering something about crazy people.

She walked down to the kitchen and made herself a sandwich. Moonlight was pouring through the windows. It wasn't technically the full moon until tomorrow night, but the moon was still pretty bright.

She looked out of the kitchen window and admired how the moonlight made the back garden look.

"Let's go walking," she said.

"Why would we go walking when we could go flying?" Sirius asked.

"Because walking is nice sometimes," she said.

She was no longer mad at them for waking her up. She and Sarah used to stay up until ungodly hours all the time, looking for things to do, just like James and Sirius were doing now. The problem was that there was never anything to do in the dead of night in Stockbridge except for walk around the neighbourhood or lay on the roof or in the fields. But those things were nice sometimes.

"Come on," James said. "I'll show you something."

Jane followed Sirius and James out the door and through the back garden. Jane watched as they proceeded to hop the small stone wall surrounding the garden. She followed, stopping at the edge of the forest behind James' house, though the boys had walked in already.

Sirius looked back at her.

"Are you coming?"

"You're not dragging me into a forest in the middle of the night," Jane said. "It's creepy in there."

"Don't tell me that you're actually _scared_ of the forest," Sirius said.

"So what if I am?"

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard," he said.

"Leave her alone," James said.

Jane stuck her tongue out at Sirius.

"Look, it's just a little walk. It's not that much of a forest to be honest," James told her. "It clears out after a while."

Jane looked at the dark forest. Why couldn't James and Sirius ever do _normal_ stuff, like _not_ walk into creepy forests at night?

Jane sighed. They wouldn't be James and Sirius if they did _normal_ things. She reluctantly walked into the forest.

She quickly noticed the footpath that ran through it, as though James did this all the time. She kept her head down, trying to not trip over tree roots. This proved difficult because not a lot of moonlight was allotted through the tree leaves. She tripped at least five times.

After a while of stumbling and having Sirius scare her out of her wits by jumping at her from behind a bush, Jane finally saw the clearing that James had said was there. It was really more of a large pond than it was a clearing though.

James hopped up onto a boulder near the side of the pond, and Jane sat beside him. She had a feeling that James had brought Sirius here before because Sirius had went straight to looking for rocks to skip.

"This is my favourite place," James told her.

Jane took notice in the little boat dock with a little wooden boat tied to it.

"Do you actually use that?" she asked, finding it somewhat hard to picture James rowing through the pond in that little boat by himself for no good reason.

He laughed a little.

"Not really," he said. "I use the dock for jumping off of sometimes in the summer."

"You swim here?" she asked.

"Whenever it's warm enough," he said.

Jane looked around. It really was the perfect little spot, with its dock and little paddle boat and boulders and trees. It sounded like a place Jane and Sarah would run off to, if a place like this existed in Stockbridge. All they had was the Test River which wasn't as beautiful and secluded as this was.

"It's perfect, like something out of the Fairytales you hear when you're little," she noted.

"That's funny you say that because fairies hatch from cocoons and like to lay eggs near here sometimes," James said.

Jane looked at him.

"Fairies?" she asked.

He nodded.

"So _good_ things exist too, not just vampires and werewolves?" Jane asked.

"Oh, yeah. There are loads of creatures out there," James said.

"What, like unicorns?" she said jokingly.

"Yeah, and mermaids, though they aren't as pretty as Muggles think they are," James said.

"Are we going to get to see them? Unicorns and fairies and stuff in that class we're taking next year?"

James shrugged.

"Maybe. That's up to the professor."

Jane nodded and looked out at the water, with the pale moonlight reflecting in it and the ripples caused by Sirius skipping stones.

"Did you know that in ancient times, people believed that the moon could make you go mad?" Jane asked.

James shook his head.

"Well, they did. They thought the moon controlled all the water on Earth, not just the tides and stuff, but like, fluids in people's bodies too.

"So when someone went crazy or something, they started to call them lunatics, because 'luna' means 'moon' in Latin. They thought the moon changing caused people to act strange."

"_Why_ do you know that?" asked Sirius, who had stopped skipping rocks to listen to Jane.

"I read a book; you should try it sometime," she said, rolling her eyes, though she doubted he could see it.

"'Lunaticus' in Latin actually means 'moonstruck,'" she said.

"Yeah, we know Latin, Janie," Sirius said.

"Well, it's not like I knew. And who asked you anyway?" she said.

"Well, I thinks it's interesting," James said.

Jane smiled. James and Sirius were so smart; she always felt accomplished when she could tell them something that they didn't already know, even if it was something as simple as the history behind a word or a superstition. While she was okay in school, she excelled in knowing about useless things.

It annoyed her father a little. He would say: "If you could put all that time and effort into remembering the things you learn in school, you'd be top of your class." But it wasn't _her_ fault that useless facts were more interesting to learn about.

She watched the moon a bit more as Sirius went back to skipping rocks. She could see why James liked the place. It was just so peaceful and serene. She never wanted to leave.


	32. Chapter 31

Chapter 31:

Throughout the week, James had insisted on Quidditch practise, and every practise was just like all the other practises Jane had ever had with him; everything had to be perfect. Jane couldn't help but feeling that if James kept this up, then _she_ was going to end up as a better Quidditch player than _he_ was, which would be hard for _anyone_ to do.

That Saturday, the day before Easter Sunday, Mrs. Potter was running through the house trying to get everyone ready for that afternoon. She amused Jane so much, especially when she was annoying James. Jane loved the Potter family. Mr. Potter was just an older version of James. However, Mrs. Potter was, obviously, where James got his perfectionist qualities from.

Sirius laughed when Jane pointed this out to him. He then proceeded to taught James about it, much to Jane's amusement.

Despite James' reluctance to go to what he called "a major bore," Jane was excited to go to the party. She had never been to a "formal social gathering," to use Mrs. Potter's words, and she was excited to get all dressed up and have Mrs. Potter do up her hair for her.

"You have beautiful hair, Darling," Mrs. Potter would say as she brushed through it, which made Jane smile.

Mrs. Potter easily became a second mother to Jane. Mrs. Potter was just so happy and bubbling over with energy, much like Jane's own mother, minus the bad spells.

Jane watched Mrs. Potter with curiosity as she put on her makeup. She had wanted to start wearing makeup, but she wasn't really sure what to buy or what to do with most of it. Marlene and Mary had already started wearing it.

Mrs. Potter noticed Jane's watchful eyes and smiled warmly. She patted a seat near her, telling Jane to sit there. Jane happily obliged.

"Now let's see," Mrs. Potter said, digging through her little makeup bag.

Jane smiled happily. Her own mother didn't wear makeup that much; being a stay at home mother didn't require it all that often, so Jane had never asked her about it.

"A little powder here," Mrs. Potter said, dabbing a bit on Jane's face. "You don't need a lot; you're complexion is already fairly good."

Jane smiled again.

"Now a touch of blush on the cheek bones," Mrs. Potter said, dusting the light pink colouring on Jane's face. "Not too much of this either, though. The trick with makeup is to make it look natural. Less is more."

Jane listened carefully as Mrs. Potter continued with the eyeshadow and mascara and lipstick. And when Jane looked in the mirror at herself she just smiled again. She looked so pretty.

"Thank you," she said to James' mum, hugging her in the process.

Mrs. Potter smiled and patted Jane on the back.

"No, problem, Dear. You know, I can't do these kind of things with James. I don't think he would take very kindly to me putting makeup on him, do you?"

Jane laughed.

"You should try it sometime," she said, still grinning.

Mrs. Potter smiled back. Then, she looked at the clock on the wall.

"Oh, run downstairs, Dear. It's almost time to leave," she said, rushing Jane out of the room and down the stairs.

Once she saw James and Sirius in their dress robes, she giggled at them. They actually looked like gentlemen.

"What are you laughing at, Amata?" Sirius said.

"Who?" Jane asked with a confused expression on her face.

Sirius just gave her a sideways glance. James whispered something to him, and a look of realisation graced his face.

"Oh, yes. I'm sorry, _Cinderella_," he corrected.

Jane hit him playfully on the arm.

"Who's Amata?" she asked again.

"It's a character from 'The Fountain of Fair Fortune,'" James said. "You were read Fairytales when you were little. Our parents read us 'The Tales of Beedle the Bard,'" he explained.

"Oh, would you just look at them, Charles," Mrs. Potter said, looking at the three of them. "Aren't they just darling?"

Jane could tell James was rolling his eyes, though she wasn't looking at him.

"Oh! Let me get the camera!" Mrs. Potter said, rushing back up the stairs.

She came back down a few seconds later, clutching a camera in her hands. She pushed the three of them together with Jane in the middle.

"Yes, that's perfe— James Potter, you smile for this picture right now! That's it," Mrs. Potter said before snapping a few pictures.

Jane and Sirius were both trying not to laugh as James forced a smile.

"All right, let's go," Mrs. Potter said, rushing them all towards the fireplace.

Jane inwardly groaned. She had to go through _that_ again?

Sirius went first again, then James. Then, it was her turn.

Unexpectedly this time, someone caught her when she stumbled out of the fireplace at the Longbottom residence. The person that had caught her was laughing.

"I thought you might need some assistance this time," Sirius stated.

"Shut up," she said.

She pushed him away, and touched her hair to make sure it hadn't fallen out of place too much.

"A simple 'thank you' would do," he said.

"Thank you, kind sir," Jane said, matching his sarcastic tone.

Suddenly, a boy with light hair walked up to them with his hands in his dress robe pockets. A bored expression was gracing his handsome features.

"Potter," he said.

"Ashby," James replied curtly.

Jane got the feeling that the two didn't like each other very much, though she didn't know why.

"Mum's forcing me to socialise," he said, not really looking at James. "So who are your friends?"

Despite his uninterested attitude, Jane was very interested in him. He was tall and handsome with his light hair and freckles. Jane suddenly wished that she looked prettier. She mentally cursed her chest, which hadn't even reached an A cup yet. She instinctively crossed her arms over her chest (or lack thereof).

"Sirius Black. Jane Hensworth," James said, seeming unwilling to talk to the boy more than need be.

"Aaron Ashby," the boy said.

Ashby. Why did that name sound so familiar to Jane? She looked around the room and spotted a familiar woman talking to Mrs. Potter. Of course. She was the woman that Mrs. Potter had been talking to on the train platform.

Aaron must have been her son. Suddenly, Jane remembered that Mrs. Ashby had said that Aaron was in his fourth year. Jane uncrossed her arms. He wasn't going to like someone that was two years younger than him regardless.

"Hey, Frank," James called, walking away, eager to get away from Aaron; Sirius followed with him.

Jane followed at a much slower pace, reluctant to leave the presence of the boy.

"It was a pleasure to meet you," she said, trying to sound mature.

The boy smirked and nodded.

"You too," he said before Jane walked away, blushing a little.

She walked over to where James, Sirius, and Frank Longbottom were standing.

"What was _that_ about?" Sirius asked her as James and Frank talked.

"What?" she asked.

"'_It was a pleasure to meet you_,'" Sirius imitated in a girly voice.

"Nothing. And I do _not_ sound like that," Jane said, blushing even more now.

"You don't _like_ him?"

"Shut up or I'll hex you," she said in a harsh whisper.

"It's not _me_ you should be worried about," Sirius said nodding to James. "He really hates Ashby, you know?"

"Why?"

Sirius shrugged.

"I never asked. He just does. I can kind of see why though. The guy's a bit full of himself," Sirius said.

"_He's_ a bit full of himself?" Jane asked.

Sirius nodded.

"More so than _you_ are?" she asked.

"I'm not full of myself," Sirius defended.

Jane let out a laugh.

"Right," she said.

"I'm _not_," Sirius repeated.


	33. Chapter 32

Chapter 32:

Jane was reluctant to leave the Potters; she loved it there. On the other hand though, going to Hogwarts was always something to look forward to, no matter _what_ you were leaving behind, even if all the stressful exam reviews _were_ about to start.

Jane didn't know _how_ she was going to make it through exams this year. Gryffindor's last Quidditch match against Ravenclaw was in a month. How was she going to have time for studying _and_ practise? Maybe she'd be a little bit more understanding if she actually got to _play,_ but all she did at practise was fly around as an obstacle for the other players.

She sighed. It'd all be worth it next year when she made first string, which by now, she had grown confident in. With James as your coach, it was best to not be unconfident, for he took it as a personal insult on his own abilities to coach. Not to mention, Sirius liked to pick out people's insecurities and use them against them (said people being mostly Jane).

Sirius swore he only did this to make Jane a stronger person, which she had initially laughed at, but it seemed to have worked. Not that she didn't have insecurities anymore, she just was a lot more selective of the ones she deemed "important." But she wasn't about to thank Sirius for that.

Mrs. Potter had kindheartedly parted with some of her own make up and gave it to Jane for starting out, which Jane carried in a small, unique looking handbag (also given to her by James' mum).

Despite all the upcoming exam reviews and studying and Quidditch practise and make up, Jane had one major concern that had been slowly eating at her conscience ever since they had arrived at the platform to go back to Hogwarts. That one little thing that was always bothering her thoughts of late. That one thing that she had learned to push expertly to the back of her mind when need be: Sarah.

Ever since Sarah's letter before the Easter holidays, Jane had not written. Now normally, this wouldn't have been that much of a big deal. Usually, Jane would just pick up a quill and start writing about how sorry she was that she had forgotten to write, but this time was different. Jane had completely ignored a plea from her friend telling her to come home, to not stay at school.

_Please don't stay at school,_ Sarah had written. _I miss you too much…Please don't stay. I'm bored out of my mind here!_

Jane still had it somewhere, tucked away in her suitcase with all the other letters.

That familiar feeling of guilt was pouring inside of her again. She thought of how terrible Sarah's Easter holiday must have been. There really was nothing to do in Stockbridge, and Jane was really the only person, besides Sean, that Sarah had to hang out with and talk to. Jane had, no doubt, hurt Sarah's feelings, and she had no way to know if Sarah was mad or not.

Jane didn't know when to write or what to write about. Was she supposed to apologise? And then, was she supposed to apologise for not replying or not coming home? Or both? Jane just didn't know what to do, but she knew she was going to have to write eventually.

She was replacing Sarah; she had known it for some time now. But could she really help it? It wasn't _her_ fault that she was a witch. It wasn't _her_ fault that she hardly ever got to see Sarah, save for this one incident. And it wasn't _her_ fault that she would rather spend her time with her best friends than in Stockbridge with a girl that she had grown so far away from.

Then again, maybe it _was_ somewhat her own fault. And that just confused Jane and made her angry, which is why she decided to push Sarah to the back of her thoughts once more while they rode back to Hogwarts.

* * *

After they arrived and had dinner, Jane and the boys went up to the common room to sit and talk for a while. Jane had went upstairs to retrieve the new scrapbook that Remus had gotten her for her birthday the previous month. She was still in the process of putting it all together.

She came back downstairs with her hands full of pictures she had had developed and the scrapbook. She spread it all out on the floor in front of the couch and began to work on it as she listened to the boys' conversations.

Jane looked through all the photos she had taken. She didn't think she'd ever get used to still photographs again after experiencing moving ones; they were just so much better. While it was nice to see someone caught mid-laugh in a still photograph, it was even _better_ to watch them as they laughed in a moving one.

Coincidentally, all the pictures that Jane had taken of Marlene had mysteriously vanished about two weeks ago, but not before she was able to give Alice a copy of the one she had asked for. Jane had given it to her one day at lunch, and Alice had laughed so hard that pumpkin juice had come out of her nose. Alice had then proceeded to show anyone that would look, which angered Marlene, resulting in the aforementioned disappearing photographs.

Jane had a feeling that they were turned to ash by now, but she still smiled, because Alice kept her copy hidden so that Marlene couldn't find it. Every now and then, Alice would pull it out of hiding to have a good laugh.

Jane smiled as she placed a picture of her and Remus carefully onto one of the pages. The picture was mostly of their faces (her arms could only stretch so far). She took notice in how sickly he had looked. There was a scratch on his face, which he had never mentioned the origin of, and his face just looked so pale, especially against Jane's dark hair.

She sighed a little.

_Poor Remus,_ Jane thought, _he has the absolute _worst_ immune system of anybody I've ever met._

Jane continued to work on the scrapbook until she noticed that Peter and Remus had already gone up to bed. She stretched and turned to look at James' wristwatch to see the time.

_12:49?_ she thought. _Two minutes ago it was nine o'clock._

Jane gathered up her things and said goodnight to Sirius and James before heading up to her dorm. Everyone else was already asleep when she got there. She carefully placed her things on the trunk at the foot of her bed and changed into her night clothes.

She lay in her bed for a while, but she just couldn't go to sleep. Too many things were racing through her head.

Quidditch practise. Studying. Sarah. Exams. Make up. Aaron Ashby.

Jane rolled back out of bed and walked over to the window. She opened it just a little and let the cool night air hit her face. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, letting it clear her mind. She sat down on the stone windowsill and just looked out into the darkness.

She'd have to write to Sarah tomorrow. She couldn't just keep ignoring her like she had been doing all of Easter break. She'd think of something to write. She was clever enough to think up a reason for ignoring Sarah.

Jane sighed. Wishful thinking was all it had been when she thought she and Sarah would _always_ be best friends.


	34. Chapter 33

Chapter 33:

Seeing as how Jane knew that she was going to have a lot to do throughout the rest of the school year, she decided to save herself a ton of guilt. She had written Sarah a couple of letters, and in the last one, after she knew that Sarah wasn't mad at her, she told Sarah that she wouldn't be able to write a lot, possibly not at all. Jane had promised to make it up to her during the upcoming summer break.

Now, during the middle of May, with exams only three weeks away, Jane was starting to feel anxious again. If there was one thing that Jane hated more than anything else in the world, it was the end of term exams. Admittedly, the year prior, she had thought that they were going to be a lot worse than they actually were, but they still scared her.

She took precautions this year, never letting her books out of sight lest the boys tried to hide them from her again this year. The only places anyone would find Jane during this time of year was a) the library or b) the Quidditch pitch.

She was currently in the library with Lily, pouring over History books and the poorly written notes she had taken in History of Magic that year. And as always when Jane was away studying for too long, James came looking for her.

"Hellloooo, Evans."

"Sod off, Potter," Lily replied without looking up from her book.

"Aren't you done yet?" James asked Jane, unfazed by Lily's rejection.

"Aren't you tired of asking me that?" Jane replied.

"Nope," he said, sitting beside her.

"Go away," Jane said.

"I haven't _done_ anything," James said, throwing his hands up.

"Not _yet,_" Jane said knowingly, glancing at him.

He smirked a bit.

"Who says I'm not here to study with you?"

"James, the last time you claimed that you were going to help me study, you ended up setting a book on fire for fun," Jane said, earning a hiss from Madam Pince who had overheard what she had said.

"Well, I can't help it that studying's boring beyond belief," James said.

"Could you please go away, Potter? You're distracting us," Lily said in an irritated tone.

James ruffled his hair and leaned back in the chair.

"Am I now?" he said. "I know it's hard to pay attention to anything else when something as wonderful as I am is in the room."

Lily rolled her eyes.

"That was hardly my point at all," she said.

"Don't you usually study with Snivellus?" James asked. "What? Was he smudging your notes with all that grease practically dripping from his hair? Or is it just that Jane's more bearable to look at?"

Jane shook her head silently as Lily quickly gathered her things and left the library.

"I expect it's both!" James called after her, earning a shush from the librarian.

"For someone who likes her so much, you sure are an arse to her," Jane pointed out.

James rolled his eyes.

"I didn't say anything about _her,_ just that freak she hangs out with."

"That _freak_ happens to be her _friend,_" Jane said.

"Oh, don't tell me that you're defending him now," James replied.

Jane laughed.

"Of course not, I hate the slimy git," she said, "but _Lily's_ friends with him."

"Oh, who cares? It's all in good fun anyway."

"Can I study now?"

"You've been studying for _hours,_" he said. "It's almost time for dinner."

"Dinner's almost an hour away," Jane said.

"That's close enough," James said.

"Go away, James."

"Oh, come on, Jane. Take—"

"_'Take a break; come do something with me and Sirius. I'm bored,'_" Jane interrupted, mimicking his voice; she had heard it so many times before.

"I _can't,_" she continued. "How many times do I have to tell you?"

"I do not sound like that," he said, crossing his arms.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" James continued excitedly. "I have to tell you something."

Jane just wanted to study. Why couldn't he just tell her at dinner or on the way to Quidditch practise tomorrow? Besides, she had a terrible headache right now.

"You can't tell Remus though because we haven't said anything to him yet, but the other night, Sirius, Peter, and I went to try and visit him in the hospital wing, but he wasn't—"

"James," Jane said, closing her eyes and rubbing her temples, "can't we talk about this later? I have a lot of stuff to do."

James stood up; a slightly disappointed look was plastered on his face.

"You _always_ have a lot of stuff to do," he mumbled before walking away.

Jane sighed as he left.

About the same time James walked out of the library, Lily walked back in and took her spot across from Jane.

"Did you really just wait outside the library for him to leave?"

Lily shrugged.

"I knew he'd leave eventually," she said.

"Why didn't you just go to the common room?" Jane asked.

"It's too noisy in there. The library's much nicer. What'd he want anyway?" Lily asked.

Jane shrugged.

"The usual. He's probably just bored. He did try and tell me something about Remus I think, but I wasn't really paying attention. I just didn't have the time, and I'm sure he'll tell me later," Jane said.

She sighed, thinking of the disappointed look on James' face.

"Do you think we over do the whole studying thing sometimes?" she asked.

"No," Lily said. "Potter only thinks we do because he _never_ studies. I don't understand _how_ he gets such good marks."

Jane looked at her book, but her head, by this point, was killing her. She closed the book.

"Maybe I _do_ need a break," she said, laying her head down on a pile of books on the table.

Lily pushed her own books aside and looked at Jane.

"My family's going to France this summer," she said.

"Sounds fun," Jane said, rubbing her head again.

"Tuney and I get to bring a friend each," Lily continued. "I was wondering if you'd like to come with us?"

Jane looked at Lily.

"Really?" she asked.

Lily nodded.

"Of course I'd like to go," Jane said. "Just need to ask Mum and Dad. When are you going?"

"Last week of June. We're staying for about two and a half weeks," Lily said.

"That's a long vacation," Jane said excitedly, her headache being the least of her worries at the moment.

She ripped a piece of spare parchment and wrote down a number. She folded it and handed it to Lily.

"That's our number. Have your parents ring us up. Mum's gonna want to talk to them if they let me go," Jane said.

"All right," Lily said, putting the number in her pocket.

They talked the rest of the time about the upcoming trip. Jane's headache was forgotten along with their studies. And the promise to make everything up to Sarah during the summer was forgotten as well.


	35. Chapter 34

**A/N****: My lovely readers, I am terribly sorry for making you wait so long (and for this very very short chapter nonetheless). My friend that I haven't seen in a very long time is back in town and I've been spending a lot of time with her. Like I said, this chapter is very short. It's almost a kind of filler, but I promise that the next chapter will be coming very soon. Again, sorry for the wait.**

* * *

Chapter 34:

During the last week of the school year, with exams and Quidditch over with (Gryffindor had lost to Ravenclaw, therefore losing the cup as well, much to James' bitter disappointment), Jane had time to relax again. A Hogsmeade trip with James and Sirius had caught her up on what James had tried to tell her earlier: that Remus was not in the hospital wing the night that he was supposed to be.

While Jane found this rather strange, she saw no reason for them to be all secretive about it.

"Why don't you just _ask_ Remus about it?" Jane had asked.

They had looked at her as though she had just suggested that they give Filch a hug.

"Why would he tell us the truth _now_ if he didn't tell us the truth _before?_" Sirius had asked.

Jane had rolled her eyes.

"I'm sure you guys are just overreacting. He was probably in the loo or something."

However, they never _did_ just ask Remus about it, and they made Jane promise not to mention it to him. Seeing as how she didn't think any of this was a very big deal, Jane found no trouble in keeping that promise.

Upon hearing of Jane's summer plans, James grew increasingly unbearable. Seeing as how Lily could hardly stand to be in the same room with James, Jane was his only hope to get to her.

"What on earth do you want _me_ to do about it?" Jane had asked him.

"Put in a good word for me?"

Jane had laughed at that.

"I hardly doubt that you'll even come up in our conversations. What am I supposed to do? Randomly talk about how you're a good person? Just at the mention of your name, Lily goes on a rant. Face it, James, no matter how many good words I put in for you, Lily Evans will _never_ take a liking to you."

Of course, James was just as stubborn as ever, and everything Jane had said had went into one of his ears and out of the other without the hindrance of a thought. Not even Sirius could get through to James when it came to Lily. James was happy with remaining overly optimistic about it all.

Aside from all of that, all of the excitement and joy that comes with the end of the school year, Jane was dreading going home. This was not caused by the impending doom of a boring summer or the prospect of her parents telling her that she could not go with Lily to France, for Jane knew this summer was going to be one of the best yet, and her parents had already agreed to let her go. No, this was a different kind of dread caused by a very separate reason, a reason Jane had not thought of until she stepped off of the train and onto the platform.

What was she to tell Sarah? Jane could see it now, Sarah's excited face as they pulled up in their drive. However, they had a little over a week before Jane left for Lily's, and the trip wasn't going to be _all_ summer. When Jane got back from France, she would make it up to her. She would.


	36. Chapter 35

Chapter 35:

As they pulled into their driveway, Sarah was sitting on their doorstep, as was expected. However, she did not seem very ecstatic. For a while, Jane thought that maybe Sarah was mad at her, but Sarah jumped up and hugged Jane.

"I'm so glad you're back," Sarah said. "I have the most awful news to tell you."

Jane lugged her suitcase up the stairs to her room and shoved it into her closet. She then became aware of the box in Sarah's hands, but said nothing. Sarah sat on her bed and sat the box down.

"Well? What is it?" Jane asked.

"John asked Mum to marry him, and she said _yes,_" Sarah said.

In the back of her mind, Jane was trying to remember what it was about John that Sarah didn't like. It had been this way ever since Ms. Camden had met the poor guy. Jane would listen to Sarah complain nonstop about him, but Jane still didn't really know _why_. He wasn't really that bad of a person. Of course, Jane wasn't about to voice that in front of Sarah.

"Can you believe that?" Sarah asked. "It's absolutely ridiculous."

Jane nodded along.

_This is great,_ thought Jane bitterly,_ I'm going to have to tell her about France when she's already upset about something. That's just_ perfect.

"They're getting married this summer. _This_ summer! Can you believe that?!" Sarah continued.

"When are they having it?" Jane asked, wondering if she was going to have to miss the wedding.

"The end of August," Sarah said. "I can't even stand to be near her right now. She's thrown herself into all of these wedding plans. I almost can't wait to visit Dad this year. I have to leave Monday; I'm staying for two weeks again, but I'll be back soon enough."

Jane silently cursed herself. How could she forget about Sarah's trip to Birmingham?

"Um, I won't be here when you get back from that trip," Jane said slowly.

"Why not?" Sarah asked, confusion registering on her face.

"A girl from school– Lily, I told you about Lily– she, um, invited me to go to France with her and her family, and I leave the last week of June."

"Oh," Sarah said. "How long are you staying for?"

"A little over two weeks," Jane said.

"Oh," Sarah repeated, her face noticeably crestfallen.

"But when I get back, we'll have loads of stuff to do and talk about," Jane said, trying to cheer Sarah up a little bit.

Sarah forced a smile.

"Yeah," she said.

"You're not mad, are you?" Jane asked.

Sarah shook her head, but shrugged as well.

"What is it?" Jane asked.

"Well, it's just, you get to spend so much time with them already, her and your other school friends, and I hardly ever get to see you, and you hardly ever write anymore—"

"That's not fair," Jane replied. "It's been really tough trying to write. I had exams and practise and—"

Sarah rolled her eyes a bit.

"Yeah, but even before all that, you have to admit, you didn't write a lot."

Jane pursed her lips. Even though it was true, she didn't like Sarah saying it.

"Well, there was nothing to write about. You can't expect me to be able write about nothing."

"It doesn't matter. I suppose I understand. I hope you have a good trip," Sarah said, trying to wave off the conversation.

"Understand what?" Jane asked with a hint of an attitude hidden in her voice that startled even herself.

"It's nothing," Sarah said, picking the box back up.

"What do you_ 'understand?'_" Jane asked, using air quotes around the word (a habit she had picked up from Mary and Marlene during the school year).

"Just that, you have new friends now, and that you'd rather hang out with them—"

"That's not true," Jane lied. "I'd pick you over them any day. It's just, Lily asked me to go, and I wasn't going to say no."

"I know, it's just that I never get to see you is all," Sarah said. "You finally come home just so you can leave again. It almost feels like– I don't know."

"Quit being so dramatic," Jane said with a harsh sort of undertone in her voice that reminded her of the way Sirius talked to Peter.

"I'm not being dramatic," Sarah defended, standing up from the bed, box still in her hands. "It's the truth! I never _do_ get to see you. You _never_ write anymore. And you _are_ about to leave again. It's like you don't even want to be here anymore."

"Who in their right mind ever _wants_ to be in Stockbridge?" Jane spat out.

Sarah was taken aback for a split second, but regained her composure.

"People who have friends here," Sarah said in a harsh, quiet voice which stung Jane a little.

Sarah pushed the box into Jane's hands.

"Here's your birthday present. I would have given it to you earlier, but you didn't come home, remember?"

Sarah stormed out of Jane's room.

Jane stood there, bewildered, with the box held in her hands. She looked down at it.

Suddenly, Jane's mum was in the doorway of her bedroom.

"Where's Sarah going?" she asked.

Jane didn't feel up for answering questions right then, having just been in a row with the very first friend she had ever managed to gain.

"Home I suppose. Something about helping her mum with wedding plans," Jane lied.

"Oh, of course. I keep forgetting that she's engaged now. To that John Pence; what a nice man. Well, dinner will be ready in a bit."

Her mother walked away, and Jane sat down on the bed and opened the box, inside of which was a black Thin Lizzy teeshirt along with the April issue of_ Beat Instrumental,_ which had an article about the band in it.

Jane sighed. She immediately felt terrible. She was replacing Sarah, but it was hard not to, seeing as how she was hardly ever around her.

_But still,_ Jane thought in the back of her mind,_ I can't just back out of the France trip. I'll reconcile things later. When I'm back from France, everything will have cooled down._

Jane put away the shirt and left the magazine on her bed for her to read later. She ran downstairs to see what she'd be eating for dinner.


	37. Chapter 36

Chapter 36:

A couple days later, Sarah left for Birmingham without any reconciliation between herself and Jane. Jane decided that when they both got back from their trips, Sarah wouldn't be mad or hurt anymore; she'd be too excited about showing Jane the things she had gotten and asking Jane never ending questions about Paris.

Between that time and the time that Jane would leave for Lily's house, Jane spent her time as best as she could in a place like Stockbridge. She walked down to the River Test; she had her mom go buy her makeup of her own; she packed; she listened to music. Basically, she did anything she could to keep from imploding in on herself out of sheer boredom.

Luckily, Lily had rung her up a few times, and excitedly talked to her about how they were going to get to fly on a plane and see the Eiffel Tower (both being things that neither of them had ever done).

Jane was thrilled at the idea of Paris; she had always wanted to go. She was so happy about her parents letting her go with Lily that not even their prying, as it seemed they had been doing of late, could make her annoyed with them.

Upon agreeing on a place for the two families to meet, the girls and their mothers finally got together and had lunch before Jane departed for the Evans' house in Cokeworth, Surrey, which was just the next county town over from Hampshire, in which lay Stockbridge.

Upon arriving at the home of the Evans family, Jane saw a girl, probably only a couple years older than herself, staring down at her from one of the upstairs windows, with a look of contempt upon her face. Jane cast her eyes elsewhere to escape the scornful stare and walked over the threshold of the house with Lily.

"Petunia," called Lily's mother, "we're home."

The girl from the window appeared at the top of the stairs, and Jane, once again, cast her gaze elsewhere. The stare of Lily's elder sister was formidable enough to make Jane remain very close to Lily's side.

"Has your friend not arrived yet?" Mrs. Evans asked Petunia.

"None of them could go," was Petunia's cold reply.

"Well, this is Lily's friend, Jane Hensworth," Mrs. Evans said. "I expect you to make her feel welcome," she added in a lowered tone, but it still reached Jane's ears.

Lily gave Jane's arm a little tug.

"Come on, I'll show you my room," Lily said.

Jane followed Lily up the staircase as she pulled her rather heavy suitcase behind her. Down the hallway, through the second door on the left, Jane found herself in Lily's room. Jane was immediately envious of it. It was not as luxurious as the rooms in the Potter's house, in fact, it was hardly bigger than her own, but it still had an air about it that made Jane wish that she lived in it.

Lily, so it had seemed to Jane, had managed to put the whole of her personality into her room. Jane hardly took notice that it was painted gold with red trimmings because Lily had plastered her walls in so many posters and banners, that they nearly covered all of the wall space. There were many books, of Muggle and Magical origin, lined on the bookshelf on one side of the room, and Jane guessed (quite correctly) that they were all alphabetised. On a desk sat Lily's typewriter, and on the wall above the desk there was a map with a couple of red pushpins in it.

Lily picked up one of the pins from a box on the desk and rolled it carefully in her palm.

"It's for all the exciting places I visit," Lily informed her. "It's not much now, Mum and Dad have to save a lot for trips like this, but it'll be _full_ of little red pins one day."

Jane looked up at it and thought of how great an idea it was, and planned to hang a map in her own room when she got back home. Her first pin would be placed in northern Scotland because Hogwarts and Hogsmeade were two of the most exciting places that she would ever see.

Lily threw the little pushpin back into it's box and fell back onto her small bed.

"How come none of your sister's friends could come?" Jane asked, wondering if maybe the reason that none of them could go was because none of them existed; it was hard to think that the girl she had just encountered had any friends at all.

Lily sighed and rolled over to her stomach and propped herself onto her elbows.

"She's lying," Lily said. "She didn't ask any of them. She doesn't want any of her friends to think that she has a freak for a sister."

"You're not a freak," Jane said, sitting down in the chair at the desk. "If anything _she's_ the freak, staring at people out of windows, glaring at them and not saying a word."

"That's mean, Jane," Lily said.

Jane shrugged a little bit, and Lily sighed.

"I don't know what I did to make her not like me so much. I'm always so nice to her," Lily said.

Suddenly, Lily's owl flew through her bedroom window and landed in its previously abandoned cage. Lily stood up and fed the bird some treats.

Jane shrugged again.

"Maybe she's just jealous," Jane offered as explanation. "Have you heard from anybody from school yet?"

"Not yet," Lily said. "I expect we'll get letters in France. It's a shame that I'm not bringing my typewriter."

Suddenly, Petunia was at the doorway of Lily's room. She refused to step through the threshold, as though it were a disgusting and revulsive place. Her countenance had not changed from before, though she did not seem acknowledge Jane's presence, to which Jane was most thankful.

"The freak is here," said Petunia in a dreadfully dull voice.

Jane, at first, was taken aback at the thought that Petunia would say such things about her, and in front of her face nonetheless! But as Lily looked out of her window, Jane realised that Petunia was not talking about her.

"He has a _name,_ Tuney," Lily said to her sister.

Jane walked over to the window and made a disparaging noise out of little less than habit. Out on the small front lawn stood none other than Severus Snape himself.

"Don't do that. Don't make that noise like that," Lily said.

"Sorry, it's a reflex," Jane defended rather truthfully.

"Come out and say hello with me," Lily said, crossing the room.

Jane looked out of the window once more, the contempt that she held for the boy painfully evident on her face. She looked to Lily with a less than amused expression gracing her features.

Lily rolled her eyes.

"Oh, you only don't like him because Potter and Black hate him," Lily said.

This _had_ been the case at one point, but was now almost entirely false. While Jane had gotten used to the fact that James and Sirius had made it their mission to make Snape's life miserable, and had even began to assist in this, Jane did not originally hate the boy. Over her two years at Hogwarts, Jane had formed her very own opinion of Snape, and it was cruelly matched by the opinion he held of her. Jane found him to be overly pretentious without reason, and he made it painfully obvious to everyone, save Lily, what he thought of people of Jane's own blood status. Snape was of no higher merit than herself, in fact, Jane saw him lower in status, but he so arrogantly believed himself above so many of his peers that Jane found him unbearable and vile.

"Never mind," Lily said, walking out of the room.

Jane stared down at Snape through the open window and watched as Lily joined him outside. The contempt for him swept over her features once more. Oh, how she hated him and the lot of friends (if one could call them that) that he so anxiously followed around like a lost puppy. No, she did not hate him just because her friends did; she had merely come to understand and share their hatred for the boy who, Jane had no doubt, would walk through his life with a false sense of importance if someone did not put him in his place now. Therefore, Jane felt that James and Sirius were doing everyone a huge service whenever they targeted him; Snape needed to learn that he was not as significant as he so self-proclaimed he was.

At this moment, Jane realised that Petunia was still in the doorway. She turned to look at her, and, in hopes of getting in the girl's good graces, said:

"I agree with you. He _is_ a freak."

However, Petunia was not anymore inclined to like Jane after her admission than before, and she promptly turned on her heel and walked away.

_Here,_ thought Jane, _is yet another arrogantly pretentious person that _also_ needs to be put in her place._


	38. Chapter 37

**A/N****: My lovely readers. I am so very, very, very sorry for the very long wait. You have every right to be angry with me if you want. I've just had so much going on lately and my depression's been kind of bad lately, but don't worry, I am okay:) Once again, I'm sorry for the wait.**

* * *

Chapter 37:

The next morning, they got a really early start, but that did not stop Snape from coming over to say goodbye to Lily and to give Jane his usual sneer when Lily was not paying attention. To which Jane had replied with a less than friendly remark that, unfortunately, Lily had heard and scolded her for when they climbed into the backseat of the car.

Petunia did not say a word to Lily or Jane the entire ride to the airport, but apparently, that was to be expected. Lily had said:

"At least she's not being mean to us."

However, Petunia didn't have to talk to annoy Jane. Just the way Petunia looked at them, with her nose turned up, made Jane angry. She hated when people looked down on her.

Jane wanted to put Petunia in her place; she wanted to try out a few jinxes that James had taught her. Unfortunately, she knew she couldn't use magic outside of school, and Lily would not have exactly liked the idea anyway.

Luckily, the plane ride served as punishment enough for Petunia. While Lily and Jane fully enjoyed the plane ride, Petunia had some trouble with motion sickness. Jane had smirked when she saw that Petunia's face was positively green. Sometimes, people got exactly what they deserved, and it was great.

Jane and Lily fell absolutely in love with Paris from the moment they got a first glimpse of it. The city was amazing. Jane loved all of the buildings and waterways. They visited the Louvre and saw the _Mona Lisa,_ which was surprising small. The Eiffel Tower was even more amazing than they could have ever imagined it would be. Notre-Dame was Jane's favourite; she loved the beautiful architecture that was the cathedral. They also visited the Catacombs. While Jane found it a bit morbid, she found it fascinating as well; it was also fun for Jane to watch Petunia's expression once she realised she would be surrounded by bones once they had gotten there.

Everything excited Jane. She and Lily were even brave enough to try escargot, which they, surprisingly enough, liked.

Around the second week they were there, Remus and James had started to write. Remus just wrote to both of them, asking how their trip was going and if they were having a good time. James mainly asked Jane if Lily had mentioned him or not (which, of course, she had not).

Petunia, who had been forced to share a room with Lily and Jane, was absolutely furious when she found owl droppings on her bed. Lily promised Petunia that neither Remus' or James' owls had been on her bed. Lily had no idea how they got there; Jane did though, not that she said anything. Jane had to stifle her laughter when Petunia literally shrieked once she realised she had laid down in owl dung. Of course, Jane kind of felt bad for Lily when Petunia was yelling at her, but that wasn't enough to make her regret putting the droppings on Petunia's bed.

Things got even _better_ once Petunia got wise and accused Jane for putting them there. All Jane had to do was pretend she had no clue what Petunia was talking about, and Mrs. Evans was left to scold Petunia about falsely accusing innocent people, especially when they were guests. Jane suspected that maybe Lily knew, but if she did, she sure didn't let on.

Before Jane knew it, and way too soon, she was on her way home. Suddenly, she was forced to think about Sarah other than the one time she bought Sarah and herself matching bracelets in France. Surely, Sarah would be in a better mood by now. Surely, Sarah would be so happy to see Jane that she couldn't possibly be mad at her still.

Jane stared out of the window of her parents' car as they pulled into their street. After seeing one of the most amazing cities out there, Stockbridge seemed even smaller than it already was. Jane furrowed her brow when she saw a dark haired girl sitting on their doorstep.

Jane got out of the car and stared at the girl, who seemed to brighten upon her arrival.

"Sarah?" Jane asked, astonished.

Sarah ran up to hug Jane and stood there grinning at her.

"Your hair," was all Jane could manage to say.

"Do you like it? Janice dyed it for me. I've told you about Janice right? My dad's girlfriend? Anyway, I really love my hair dark. Don't you?" Sarah asked excitedly.

"Uh, yeah, it looks good. Did you get it cut too?" Jane asked, staring at Sarah's hair.

"Oh, yeah. I only got a little taken off. I thought it was time to do something different, you know? Change things up a bit. Birmingham was great…"

Jane walked inside, Sarah leading the way to her room. Jane tried to listen to what Sarah was saying, but all she could think about was Sarah's hair. Sarah had _loved_ her long blonde hair; she was so particular about it. She hardly let anybody _touch_ it. In fact, Jane used to poke fun at her because of it. And now, she had cut _and_ dyed it? It was such a drastic change. Personally, Jane had liked it better the way it was before. Now it was too–not Sarah. In fact, it looked more like Jane's hair than anything.

"So how was Paris? Did you love it?" Sarah asked eagerly.

Jane pushed the thought of Sarah's hair to the back of her mind.

"Yeah, it was amazing. Actually," Jane said, looking through her bag, "I got you a bracelet."

Jane pulled out the bracelet, and Sarah excitedly took it.

"It's so pretty," Sarah said as she put it on her wrist.

"Yeah, I got one like it, too. I thought matching bracelets was a cool idea," Jane said, holding up her own wrist to show off her own bracelet.

Though, now that they had similar hairstyles, what was the point in matching bracelets?

"Oh, that's such a good idea," Sarah said.

Sarah caught a glimpse of her and Jane in the mirror.

"Oh my goodness! We look like twins almost!"

Sarah's voice had a tone of excitement in it, but a pit started to form in the centre of Jane's stomach when she stared at the mirror.

_Yeah, that's great,_ Jane thought sarcastically. _Just great._


	39. Chapter 38

Chapter 38:

Jane endured four weeks of Sarah following her like a lost puppy before her Hogwarts letter and Hogsmeade permission slip came for her. It was getting really annoying and, not to mention, tiring. Jane had to do her summer work late at night when Sarah wasn't there; it was the only way she'd ever get it done before school started back. On _top_ of that, Jane had to practise her flying skills in the dead of night. This resulted in her being very tired and irritable when Sarah came over to wake her up at nine in the morning like she usually did.

The week after she'd received her letter, Jane was off to Diagon Alley to see her friends. She had been able to avoid Sarah by getting her mother up early so that they could leave before Sarah came over. She kind of felt bad about it, but honestly, with how things were going, Sarah would try and come with her. How was she supposed to tell Sarah that she couldn't come school shopping with her?

So on the third Friday of August, Jane and her mum drove to London. Jane was doing a little bit better with the whole not disrespecting her parents thing. Mainly, it was because her mum had been doing so well. Of course, they still got on Jane's nerves, but they _had_ let her go to France, and Jane really didn't want to start anything that might cause her mother to spiral downwards again.

As Jane walked into Diagon Alley, she smiled and took a deep breath, filling her lungs with the fresh aroma of a bakery to her left.

"Jane."

Jane turned around to see Remus and his parents coming out of Madam Malkin's Robes, and she could see why. He had gotten really tall; he was probably even taller than James and Sirius now. Jane, too, had grown a couple of inches over summer, and, much to her happiness, gotten boobs. Of course, they were only an A cup, but she got to wear a bra now, and boobs were boobs. Her mother had assured her that they would get bigger.

"Remus!" Jane said, hugging him. "You've gotten so tall!"

"I know," Remus said. "I just had to get new robes. I out grew my old ones."

"I've missed you so much. I feel like I haven't seen you for a lifetime," Jane said.

"Jane, dear, I think you might need to get new robes too," her mother said.

Jane looked around. James and Sirius were nowhere in sight, but then again, she had gotten there rather early.

"Want to come keep me company?" she asked Remus, who agreed; his mum had to go back to Gringotts anyway.

Jane stood on the little platform in Madam Malkin's with the tape measure spinning all around her body, measuring every inch of her. Remus sat and talked to her while she waited for Madam Malkin. Jane's mum was looking for a new black shoes for Jane at the other side of the store.

"I'm getting an owl today," Jane told Remus excitedly. "I've been thinking of names all summer."

"I'd love an owl of my own. I mean, the family owl's great and all, but having one of your own is way better," Remus said.

"Hey, at least you've got an owl at home that you can use. It's so frustrating to not be able to send letters whenever you want. It's so—"

Jane stopped talking once she looked in the mirror to see none other than Aaron Ashby walking through the shop doors with his mother and little sister. He had gotten even more handsome over summer break.

"Hello?" Remus said. "Earth to Jane!"

He waved his hands at her. Jane blushed and looked away from the mirror, but kept glancing back up at it to see where Aaron was.

"What's wrong with you?" Remus asked.

"Nothing," Jane said, but she was smiling a bit.

Remus shook his head at her, but she didn't notice, because Jemma Ashby was walking straight towards her, Aaron following behind her.

"Oh my, you're the sweet little darling that was with Cassandra over Easter," Mrs. Ashby said. "Forgive me, I've forgotten your name."

"Jane Hensworth," Jane replied.

Jane eyes quickly flashed to her mother at the other side of the store who was holding up two, almost identical pairs of shoes and examining them. Jane did _not_ want her mum to hear Mrs. Ashby talking about Easter.

"Oh, that's right. I don't know if you've met Lydia or not. It'll be her first year. She's so excited."

Jane stared at the bored face of the younger girl standing beside Mrs. Ashby.

"It shows," Jane said, hiding the sarcastic tone that she so eagerly wanted to use.

"Well, it was nice to see you again, darling. I need to go get Lydia some robes."

And with that, Mrs. Ashby and Lydia walked away. Aaron, however, stayed.

"You're one of Potter's friends, right?" he asked.

"Yeah," Jane replied with a goofy grin on her face.

"I'm Aaron, if you don't remember," he said, smirking at her expression.

"I remember," Jane said. "I also remember that you and James didn't seem to like each other very much."

He chuckled, causing Jane to smile even more.

"Yeah, Potter's never really liked me," Aaron admitted.

"Hmm, and why is that?" Jane asked, not really looking for an answer; he was talking to her, and that was all that mattered.

"I'm not really sure," Aaron said. "I was actually hoping that _you_ could enlighten me on that one."

Jane smirked at him and shrugged.

"James can be a bit judgemental sometimes. He just doesn't like some people," Jane said.

Aaron laughed again, and then continued to smirk at her. Jane felt like her heart was melting into her stomach.

"Well, it was good to see you again. Maybe I'll see you around school," he said.

"Yeah, maybe," Jane replied.

Jane smiled as Aaron walked away.

"Well," Remus said awkwardly, "that was painful to watch."

Jane rolled her eyes.

"Oh, shut up," she said, but she was still smiling.

"And James _can_ be a bit judgemental, but when he doesn't like someone, it's _usually_ for a good reason. Did you think about that?" Remus said.

"Oh, please. Just because James doesn't like him doesn't mean he's a bad person," Jane said.

"I don't know, Jane. He does seem kind of— I don't know. Besides, he two years older than us," Remus said.

"So? That's not _that_ big of an age difference," Jane said, though the reminder that he was in his fifth year and she was only in third _did_ make her a little crestfallen; he wouldn't like her.

"All right, let's see, now," Madam Malkin said as she appeared in front of Jane with some fabric in her hands.

After Jane got her robes, they walked out of the store and saw James, Sirius, and Peter already waiting for them.

"_There_ you two are," Sirius said. "I think my hair was turning grey just waiting for you."

"Shut up," Jane said, pushing him a little before he smirked and gave her a hug.

"Thank you for your usual _one_ letter over summer. It was really great," Jane said.

"Just be happy I wrote to you at all," he said.

"And how is our little traveler? Going off, seeing the world without us," James said.

"I hardly saw the _world,_" Jane said, hugging him. "Besides, you've already been to Paris before."

"That didn't count; I was six," James said.

After that, Jane's mum left with Mrs. Potter and Jane and the boys walked about Diagon Alley. She left her camera film to get developed and they were on their way.

As usual, they walked into Quality Quidditch Supplies just to look around and see if there was anything new. Jane smiled when she saw Aaron at the register buying broom polisher with his friends.

Aaron turned and saw Jane. She smiled and waved, and to her surprise, he waved back, with that same heart-melting smirk on his face.

"Hey," he said to Jane as he an his friends walked past.

James looked at Jane as she watched Aaron walk out of the shop.

"No," James said. "No. No. No."

"What are you on about?" Jane asked.

"You like him, don't you?"

"So what if I do?" Jane replied boldly.

"Why'd he say hey to you?" James asked.

"It's what normal, nice people do," Jane said.

"He's _not_ a nice guy, Jane," James said.

"What's your problem?" Jane asked. "You just don't like him because you think that I like him."

"That's not true. I didn't like him before I even knew you," James said.

"Whatever," Jane said, waving the subject away.

"Listen, Jane, just be careful around him, okay?" James said on a much more serious note that took Jane off guard.

"I can take care of myself, James," Jane assured him.

After a fun-filled day in Diagon Alley, Jane was ready to get her owl. She found her mother, who looked almost mad.

Jane's mum took her to the side.

"I had the most interesting conversation with Mrs. Potter," Mrs. Hensworth said.

Jane just looked at her.

"For some reason, she was under the impression that you stayed at their her house over the Easter holidays. Now, do you have any as to why she would say something like that?"


	40. Chapter 39

Chapter 39:

It went without saying that Jane was _not_ going to get an owl. The one thing she had been looking forward to after she had gotten back from Paris and she couldn't have it.

Jane's parents were so mad at her. But when they grounded her for the rest of the summer, Jane couldn't help but feel relieved. No more Sarah to cling onto her. She didn't have to feel bad about telling Sarah that she couldn't hang out with her because, well, it was the truth.

But Jane had been grounded before and they had always been able to sneak behind Jane's parents' backs. They'd always sneak out at night and talk or look at the stars or walk to the River Test. But Jane didn't do any of that stuff this time. And Sarah noticed.

Ms. Camden's wedding was on the last day of August, the day before Jane left for school. Jane and her parents were sort of obligated to go; they had know Ms. Camden for a long time. There was no way that Jane could avoid Sarah, and things didn't exactly end well.

Jane could tell that Sarah was mad at her. Normally, Sarah would have at least said hey to her. So after the small ceremony, they went to the reception. Jane figured that since she would be leaving the next day, she might as well talk to her. But by the time of the reception, Sarah had focused in on something else.

When Jane finally reached Sarah, she was glaring at her mum and her new step-dad. Jane had forgotten how much Sarah hadn't liked John.

"God, can you believe it? I mean, just look at them. He's just not right for her, you know?" Sarah said to Jane as she continued to glare at her mum and John.

Jane looked over at the newly-wed Mr. and Mrs. Pence as they spun around on the dance floor. Jane had never seen Sarah's mum so happy as she was right then. She was smiling and laughing and the way she looked at John was just so beautiful. Her happiness seemed to light the whole room, but Sarah didn't see that.

"She looks really happy," Jane said to Sarah.

"So? That doesn't change the fact that he's entirely wrong for her. And I think it's completely selfish. She never even cared what _I_ had to say about this whole marriage thing," Sarah said.

"Why would she? You're not the one getting married," Jane said bluntly.

Sarah looked astounded.

"No, but he's going to be moving in us. I have to _live_ with him now," Sarah said, as though it were the worst thing in the world.

Jane shrugged.

"Maybe should at least give the guy half a chance—"

"I don't _want_ to give him a chance!" Sarah exclaimed. "I don't like the guy. And why are you taking my mum's side on this? You're supposed to be my friend."

"I'm not taking sides. I just think you should try a little harder. I mean, do you even have a _real_ reason to hate the poor guy?" Jane countered.

Sarah stood there with her mouth open a little bit.

"I just don't like him. I don't have to explain myself to you. And I _don't_ have to like him," she said.

"Exactly. If you don't have to explain yourself to anyone, then your mum shouldn't have had to explain her marriage to you. You may not have to like John, but like you said, he _is_ going to be living with you. It just might be easier if you at least _tried,_" Jane said.

"Why are you acting like this?" Sarah asked.

"I'm not _acting_ like anything," Jane defended. "It's just ironic that you'd called your mum selfish for marrying a man that makes her happy when it's really _you_ that's being selfish. Not _everything_ revolves around you, Sarah," Jane said harshly.

"I am _not_ being selfish. How could you—how dare you? Why would you say something like that?"

"Because your mum has an opportunity that could make her really happy, and all you're thinking about is _you._ You don't know how lucky you are to have a mum like her. One that's _always_ there for you. You don't know what I'd give for my mum to be happy like that!" Jane rounded.

"Don't you _dare_ be angry with me! _I'm_ the one that should be mad at _you!_ You haven't _spoken_ to me in_ two weeks!_" Sarah said

"I'm grounded—"

"Oh, please. If you _really_ wanted to hang out with me, you would have. If you _really_ had missed me, you would—"

"Would have what, Sarah? Not gone to France with Lily? Just go ahead and say it," Jane said

"I'm not mad at you for going to Paris. I'm mad at you because you don't even _try_ to be my friend anymore. All you think about are your _new_ friends. Your dad told me why you were grounded. I can't _believe_ you lied to me. You pretended like you couldn't come home because you just had _so much_ to do, when really you'd just rather hang out with your _real_ friends. It's like your replacing me, and that's not fair because I made new friends too, but I didn't do that to you!" Sarah said.

"I'm not replacing you!" Jane defended, but she knew it was a lie. "You've gotten so clingy, that I don't _have_ to have other friends to not want to hang out with you!"

The words came out before Jane could stop them, and once they were out in the open, she couldn't take them back. And if she was being honest with herself, she didn't really want to.

"You're a bitch," Sarah spat.

For two years now, if anyone had ever spoken to Jane like that, James or Sirius would've made sure they regretted it. For two years now, hardly anyone had dared to messed with Jane. For two years now, Jane had been being taught how to stick up for herself. So when Jane heard Sarah call her that, she was furious.

Before Sarah had time to think, Jane was on top of her. The girls rolled around on the ground, throwing punches, pulling hair, and clawing at each other.

Jane's dad and one of Sarah's older cousins pulled the girls away from each other. They were still kicking and screaming at each other. If there had been any hope of saving their friendship, it was all but diminished now.


	41. Chapter 40

Chapter 40:

That was the last time Jane saw or spoke to Sarah before she left for Kings Cross. Who did Sarah think she was anyway, calling her a bitch? Every time Jane thought of it, it made her blood boil, and she wanted to punch Sarah all over again.

Jane's parents were very disappointed in her. They had wanted to know what had "gotten into her," as though she had been infected with something. Jane didn't care though. In fact, she was kind of proud. For a girl that had never been in a fight before, she sure did hold her own. She had been able to make Sarah's nose bleed; Jane doubted that she had broken it, but drawing blood was good enough for her.

Of course, Sarah had got a pretty good hit in as well. Jane's left cheekbone had some bruising to it. Her powder covered most of it, but anyone with decent eyesight could still see the bruise a little bit.

By the time she got to Kings Cross, Jane was almost ready to fight Sarah again. She quickly said goodbye to her parents and, slowly, lugged her suitcase and Nimbus 1500 onto the train. She found an empty compartment and just sat there.

A part of her was relieved; she was finally free of Sarah. But the other part of her felt so guilty. Sarah's was right; Jane _had_ replaced her, and Sarah hadn't really deserved that. But then again, Sarah had called her a bitch and _she_ hadn't deserved _that_ either.

Jane knew that James or someone was probably already sitting in a compartment somewhere (she was _never_ the first one there), but she figured that they'd come and find her if they really wanted to. She wasn't really in the mood to talk to anyone anyway.

But after a while of sitting and contemplating about being angry and sad at the same time, a little after the train started to move, Sirius found her.

"There you are," he said. "What are you doing? We never sit this far back on the train."

Jane shrugged.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing," Jane said, getting up from her seat and starting to tug on her suitcase.

Sirius put a hand on her suitcase to stop her.

"Seriously, what's wrong?" he asked.

"I said nothing," Jane said.

"What happened to your face then?" he asked.

Jane's hand instinctively reached up to the bruised portion of her face. But she shrugged and tried to pull her suitcase off of the luggage rack once more.

"I got into a fight," she said in a nonchalant tone.

Sirius pushed her suitcase back onto the rack once more, and Jane threw up her hands in exasperation.

"You got in a fight? With who?" Sirius asked.

Jane saw the hint of amusement on his face, and she almost didn't tell him. But she decided just to humour him.

"With Sarah."

Sirius' brow shot upwards in surprise.

"Isn't she your best friend?" he asked.

"Not anymore," Jane said as she started to tug on the heavy suitcase again.

"_You_ at least got a hit in, didn't you?" he asked in a criticising tone.

Jane nodded.

"Right in the nose," she said.

"Break it?"

"No. Busted it though," she said, unaware of the smirk that had formed on her face.

"Nice," Sirius said.

"Mhm, glad you approve," Jane said, "because everybody else at the wedding reception did not."

Jane had been so close to finally lugging her overweight suitcase off the the rack, when Sirius slapped his hand back on it and pushed it back into place.

Jane wanted to break his hand off.

"You got into a fight at a _wedding?_ Why, the Janie _I_ know would never do something like that," he said in a manner of mock surprise.

"Maybe you don't know me as well as you think you do," Jane said.

Sirius just grinned at her and shook his head.

"Now, can you help me move this thing? Or are we just going to stay in this compartment?"

Sirius pulled the suitcase off the rack in one great heave which made Jane jealous. She had basically no upper body strength whatsoever.

"You've been practising your flying, right?" Sirius said, his eyes flashing towards her broomstick.

"Of course, I have," Jane said. "I didn't want to look like an idiot at tryouts, did I?"

"Nervous about tryouts?" Sirius asked as they walked down the aisle of the train.

"Nope," Jane said.

This was a lie. She was nervous, but she wasn't as nervous as she had been the previous year, and if he had admitted to being nervous, Sirius just would have teased her for it anyway.

"Good," he said, walking into the compartment with the rest of their friends.

"What's good?" James asked nosily as Jane sat down beside him.

"Janie's making first string this year," Sirius said, sitting across from them in between Remus and Peter.

"Tell me something I _don't_ know," James said arrogantly.

"Well, Janie go into a fight yesterday," Sirius said.

"What?" James exclaimed.

And so Jane went into detail for them about her fight with Sarah, and she didn't notice it, but she smiled the entire time.


	42. Chapter 41

Chapter 41:

It didn't take long before Jane had completely forgot about Sarah. When they arrived at the school that Saturday, Jane was so excited that she felt like she would bust. The only bit of fresh news she received at the feast was that the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor was a stout woman named Twiggy Lawson.

They had went up to their dorms, where Jane unpacked and caught up with her dorm mates. Then, she walked back down to the common room to find Sirius and James scaring away a few first years from their favourite spots. She flopped down onto the couch and dumped her picture book onto James, before laying her head back into Remus' lap and making herself comfortable.

Jane smiled up at Remus when he playfully flicked her nose. James flipped through the picture book, looking at all of Jane's pictures from Paris, while Peter peered over his shoulder at them. Sirius had taken to balling up little pieces of parchment and using magic to launch them at first years.

Jane was just so happy to be back at Hogwarts again with her friends. She was so excited about this year. She could feel it; it was going to be the best term yet. She was going to make first string. She was going to be way more outgoing. In fact, maybe sometime during the first week of classes, she'd walk up to Aaron and actually start a conversation with him. Maybe she'd join in on more of James and Sirius' riskier pranks. Well…_maybe._ She wasn't yet too much of the "go getter" she liked to think she was sometimes.

After a long while in the common room, they snuck away to the kitchens for a few snacks and just roamed around the castle. They didn't bother with being too sneaky about it. The teachers and prefects (save for the _new_ ones) were always most lenient on the first day back from any kind of break and _especially_ on the start of a new term. They wouldn't really start taking points or giving detentions until Monday when classes started. Eventually, they were spotted by the Head Girl, the nicest girl in Hogwarts, Miranda Delle, and were ushered back to their dorms. From there, they said goodnight, and Jane walked up to her dorm and crawled into bed with a happy little smile on her face.

* * *

"Hmm, first class is Defence with the new teacher," Jane said a little warily over breakfast on Monday as she munched on her toast and jam. "Wonder what she's like."

"She'll probably be a _saint_ compared to Connolly," James said before shovelling food into his mouth.

"I sure hope she is," Sirius added. "I can't take another year of someone like Connolly. I'd die."

"You're such a drama queen," Jane teased.

"So, since Johnson's gone, who's the new Quidditch captain?" Sirius asked, ignoring Jane.

"Umm, I think it's Michaels," James said.

"Think she's captain material?" Peter asked.

Sirius nodded.

"She's a fair Beater. I think she'll be a good captain," he said.

"You going to go for Seeker now that Johnson's gone?" Jane asked James.

James shook his head.

"No way. I love being a Chaser; they get most of the action. I don't want to have to sit and wait the entire game just to catch a little, gold ball," he said. "If you think about it, Seeker's got to be the most boring position. Sure, it gets a lot of glory, but that's only because the Snitch is worth so many points. It's got to be dreadfully boring."

Sirius let out a little, harsh chuckle.

"Regulus is going out for Seeker this year for the Slytherin team," he said.

Jane looked up at him; Sirius rarely ever mentioned his little brother. Last year was Regulus' first year at Hogwarts and, from what Jane had known, Sirius hadn't spoken one word to him the entire school term.

"He's got to be really good, because that's the only way Slytherin will take on a second year Seeker," James said.

"He's pretty good," Sirius said indifferently.

Then, in a much more livelier tone, Sirius said, "Well, if he makes the team, I'll at least get to knock him off his broom a few good times."

Jane smiled as James and Sirius continued to talk about Quidditch. She found that she couldn't wait until Friday afternoon. She was still nervous, but she was more excited than anything. She couldn't wait for tryouts.

Of course, as the week progressed and tryouts got closer, Jane became more and more nervous. She tried not to be, but that was easier said than done. Every day after class, she practised her flying, save for on Tuesday, when she had Art.

When Friday rolled around, Jane was a nervous wreck on the inside. Sure, Marcus Johnson had thought she had had potential, but Candice Michaels was the new team captain. What if she didn't feel the same way? Of course, the odds were kind of in Jane's favour since two of the Chasers on the team had graduated the year prior.

Nervous wreck or not, Jane had to suck it up. That afternoon, she walked down to the Quidditch pitch with James and Sirius and waited for the tryouts to begin.

Jane had complete confidence in all of the flying drills that Candice put them through. Her flying was great; she was mostly worried about actually playing with the Quaffle. She hadn't practised with a Quaffle all summer. She anxiously watched the other people trying out for a Chaser's position as she waited her turn.

When it was her turn to take the field, a miraculous thing happened. As soon as the Quaffle touched her hands, she automatically remembered everything James had taught her. It was as though an electric current had been sent through her body and wiped away all of her nerves and doubt and replaced them with determination and pure adrenaline.

She expertly weaved in and out of other players. She made and received perfect passes, and she scored at least five goals on the person trying out for Keeper at that time (though that person wasn't very good at blocking shots). She felt so powerful, like she could out play any player on the pitch. Of course, logically, she knew she wasn't the best player, but it didn't stop her from feeling like it.

Once her feet touched the ground, James and Sirius were waiting for her, having already finished their turns at tryouts. James was grinning a very proud grin, a grin that a father might give his son when he scores his first goal in a football game. Sirius had that same stupid smirk on his face, but he was proud of her too.

Jane walked up to them with a giant grin on her face. She knew she had done well, and she knew that they were happy for her. The excitement of it all welled up inside of her and was ready to bust out. She was ready to hear the new Gryffindor team line-up.

"All right, you know the drill. Please, stay quiet until I've called all names, players _and_ alternates. Please, come forward when your name is called," Jane heard Candice saying.

"Our new Seeker is number four, Brenton Michaels."

Jane watched as a boy a year older than her walked forward. She knew there'd be a lot of talk about how Candice only picked him because it was her brother, but that wasn't true. Brenton was just really good. In fact, Candice had tried to get James to go out for Seeker, but he had refused.

"Returning as Keeper, number nine, Will MacGregor."

"Returning as our other Beater, number twenty-four, Sirius Black."

Sirius grinned as if to say, "obviously" before walking forward. Jane rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless.

"Returning as Chaser, number eighteen, James Potter."

Jane smiled as James walked forward to join Sirius, and then her heart rate quickened. There were two more open Chaser positions.

"And out two new Chasers are number fifteen, Jarod Harris—" Jane glanced at the grinning boy in his fourth year as he walked forward, "—and number thirteen, Jane Hensworth."

It was all Jane could do to keep from screaming with excitement as she calmly walked towards her friends. About halfway to them, she looked up to see that even Sirius was smiling a genuine smile. The excitement boiled over, and she ran straight into James, who gave her a massive hug, and she didn't even care that they were both drenched in sweat.

"See? I told you that you'd make first line this year," he said as they continued to hug.

"Thank you so much, James," Jane said.

"Hey," Sirius said, "I helped too."

Jane laughed and hugged him as well.

"Thanks to the _both_ of you. I couldn't have done it without you guys," Jane said.

"We know," they both said simultaneously, and Jane playfully pushed them both away from her.

She couldn't believe it; she'd made first line. She couldn't wait to tell Remus and Lily. She could hardly wait for their first game. And for the rest of the day, she was on top of the world, and nobody was there to push her off.


	43. Chapter 42

Chapter 42:

From there on out, Quidditch became a sort of second nature to Jane. The practises were way more intense now that she was on first line, and she put everything she had into her practises. Remus even started to tease her for being too much like James when it came to Quidditch.

Remus had gotten sick twice already before the end of October was near. Jane didn't really think anything about it; it was a usual occurrence by now. Remus just seemed to always be sick. The others, however, seemed to think that Remus was hiding some sort of enormous secret from them. When they tried to convince Jane of this, she simply waved them off. She had told them that she wanted nothing to do with their "conspiracy theory," as she had called it.

Finally, they stopped mentioning it to her. The way Jane saw it was this: even if Remus _was_ keeping some big secret from them, which she very highly doubted he was, it was probably for a good reason; it wasn't their job to find it out. Jane wouldn't have liked it if they had went snooping behind _her_ back and found out about her mum. Sometimes people deserved to have their secrets; they deserved privacy.

The last Sunday in October marked their very first (school permitted) Hogsmeade trip. While all the other third years were buzzing around the little village with excitement, the five friends just walked around and talked to each other. The excitement of the village had worn off on them by now, seeing as how they could come and go anytime they desired. However, Jane's love for Hogsmeade still remained strong.

The friends bought Butterbeers to warm themselves up as they walked around in the chilly October weather. They walked and walked and walked until they made it to the outskirts of the village. In the distance, they could see the lone Shrieking Shack.

Jane, whose fear of the shack still remained despite her new found attitude, was happy with keeping their distance from it, but she had never been one graced with good luck. They kept walking closer and closer towards it.

Jane had to keep telling herself that they were only walking; it wasn't like they were walking _to_ the shack. They were walking without destination and happened to be headed in the same direction that the shack was in was all it was. It wasn't like they were stupid enough to get too close to it.

Unfortunately, Jane didn't account for the one major flaw of their little group: Sirius. Jane didn't know what compelled him to think up the things he did. Sometimes, she was fully convinced that Sirius had been put on the earth to torture her specifically. Somewhere in his DNA, Sirius had a gene that was designed with the sole purpose to clash with Jane in any way that it could; and it did a very good job at it.

"I wonder what's _really_ in that shack," Sirius had said.

And that was it. That was all it took for James and Sirius to lead the way right to the shack. Remus and Jane protested the entire way. Peter just trembled out of fear.

With the house in clear view, about one hundred yards away, Jane decided that she wasn't going any further.

"Come on, Jane. We're just going to have a little look around. It'll be fun," James said.

"No," she stated.

"What? Are you scared?" Sirius teased.

"Of the most haunted building in Britian? Maybe a little," Jane admitted; she didn't care how badly she got teased for this one; she wasn't going _near_ that shack.

"Oh, come on—"

"No," Jane said again, crossing her arms. "Did you know that not even the Hogwarts ghosts will go in there? Sir Nicholas told me."

"Ghosts are cowards, Janie," Sirius said. "That's _why_ they're ghosts. They were too afraid of death."

"Jane's right, guys," Remus butted in. "It's probably private property anyway. We could end up in a ton of trouble. Besides, there's probably nothing to really see."

"Well, you pansies can stay here, but James and I are going to check it out," Sirius said.

"Fine," Jane said, sitting herself on the ground.

"Fine," Sirius said before walking away with James.

Peter sat anxiously on the ground beside Jane, while Remus just stood, looking as though he were making sure no one would walk up on them. After a few long minutes, Remus looked at the shack.

"I wish they would hurry it up," he said.

"I know; it's making me nervous. I mean, what if something gets them?" Jane said.

Remus nearly rolled his eyes.

"Nothing's going to 'get' them," he assured her.

"And how would _you_ know?" Jane asked.

"I mean, I– it's probably not even haunted," he said.

Jane shook her head.

"No, something definitely lives in that shack," she said. "Back during the second week of school, we all snuck out to go to Hogsmeade one night. I think it was one of the nights you were sick," Jane added upon seeing his confused expression.

"Anyway," Jane continued, "we were just kind of walking down the High street, because, well, no shops are really open at night, and we heard these awful screams coming from this place. Remember, Peter?"

"Yeah," Peter said, still trembling. "It was terrifying."

"So it has definitely got something wrong about it," Jane said. "And whatever it is, I don't like it. It frightens me . There's just something about it…"

Jane drifted off. And Remus stayed quiet for a long time after that. When he spoke again, it was to complain that James and Sirius should've been back by now.

"Maybe they've found a way inside," Peter said.

Remus shook his head.

"That's impossible. It's all boarded up with magic," he said, looking towards the shack.

"How do you know that?" Jane asked.

"I–I heard it from someone," he said in an unconvincing tone.

Jane didn't pry though. She was too busy worrying about those two idiots that she called her friends. Why did they always have to do things like this? Things that could get them into trouble was one thing, but things that could get them hurt was something else entirely.

"Come on," Remus said.

"Have you gone mad? I'm not going near that place," Peter said.

"I'm not saying anything's happened to them. I'm just saying that if, by some miracle, they were able to find a way in, we need to convince them to get out. That place– I don't know– it's probably not stable or something."

"Are you saying that it could collapse on them or something?" Jane asked in a worried tone.

"I–I don't know. Maybe. Yes. It probably might," Remus stuttered out.

Jane sighed. It was just like James and Sirius to go into an old, haunted, unstable shack without thinking through _any_ of the safety precautions. Detentions were nothing, but this time they could get seriously injured, maybe even killed if they weren't careful. And of course they never were careful.

"Oh, all right," Jane said, standing up and brushing herself off.

She followed Remus to the shack. Peter followed behind them, jumping at everything. He was only following them because he didn't want to be left all alone.

Jane had sworn that she'd never go near this place, but the idea of something bad happening to one of her friends was way more terrifying than a dumb shack. So she walked all the way up to the rundown house, calling for James and Sirius to come back.

As soon as she rounded the back of the house, something jumped out at her. On instinct, Jane screamed as loud as she could and kicked her attacker. She backed away a few paces before she realised that she had kicked Sirius. And in a place that would cause him immense pain.

Jane clasped her hands over her face as Sirius fell to the ground, clutching his groin area. James ran over to help him up.

"Oh my– Sirius, I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" Jane said.

"Merlin's pants!" he said. "What the bloody hell did you do that for?"

"You jumped out at me! I didn't have time to think! You shouldn't have tried to scare me!" Jane said.

Sirius slowly stood up.

"Well, I guess you can say goodbye to all your future children after that kick, aye mate?" James said jokingly.

Jane scoffed.

"Oh please, he wasn't having children anyway. There's no one alive daft enough to shag him," Jane said.

"Hey! I'll have you know that half the girls at Hogwarts find me very charming," Sirius said, regaining his composure. "And Remus, I swear to Merlin, if you don't stop laughing, I'm going to make you regret it."

Remus, who had been on the verge of laughter ever since he saw Sirius on the ground, just smiled and shook his head.

"You guys are idiots," he said before leading them back to the village.


	44. Chapter 43

Chapter 43:

On the morning of the third day in November, Jane felt like she was going to pass out. Today was the first Quidditch game of the season. Gryffindor versus Slytherin. It was to be the first _real_ game of Quidditch she had ever played. So many people had told her 'good luck,' that she felt if she heard it again, she might be sick. In fact, she had already been sick twice that day due to nerves.

Remus and James were doing everything in their power to calm her down. They both tried to assure her that she would do just fine, and that nothing bad would happen. To which Sirius had continued with:

"Yeah, I mean, the worst that could happen is you fall off your broomstick; you aren't going to _die._"

After that, James had forbidden Sirius from talking to Jane because she went into hysterics.

An hour before the game, Jane sat in the Great Hall, just staring at the table. She had seemed glued to the spot, so James left without her to fetch her something from the kitchens, seeing as how she didn't eat any breakfast that morning. Remus sat across from her, reading a book, as Sirius was snipping off a few bent twigs from the end of his broomstick beside her.

After a while of contemplating about whether or not she should fake an injury, and deciding that that would be a cowardly thing to do, someone sat down on the other side of her. Jane looked up.

"Hey," Aaron said when Jane looked at him.

Normally, Jane was delighted whenever Aaron spoke to her, but under the circumstances, all she could manage was a weak smile. Sirius, who seemed to dislike most of the same people that James did, and especially Aaron, stopped tending to his broom, but didn't look up or say anything.

"Come on, cheer up," Aaron said. "You get to play today."

Jane let out a tiny, anxious laugh.

"Nervous, huh?" Aaron asked.

Jane nodded.

"First games always mess with your head. Trust me, it's like that for everyone. The day before _my_ first Quidditch game, I was so worried about it that I actually fainted in the middle of Potions class," he said, chuckling a bit.

"It was terrible," he continued. "Swelling Solution spilled all over my hand; I had to go to the hospital wing and everything. But you know what happened during the game the next day?"

Jane just looked at him.

"I intercepted seventeen passes and scored fifty points that game," he said. "So basically I was worried about nothing. I knew how good I was; after all, I _had_ made the team. It was stupid to worry.

"That's what you need to remember. You're a good Quidditch player, otherwise you'd be in the stands with everybody else. You're a good Quidditch player, otherwise you wouldn't even be playing in the game. The Hogwarts teams don't just let anybody play. It may seem like Hufflepuff does, but that's because their team's just been terrible for the last three years. So you see? You going to do just fine; you know what you're doing. You're a good player, you just have to _remember_ that you are."

Jane knew that he had basically just told her everything that James had, but the story about his first game really settled her nerves a lot. He was right. She _was_ a good Quidditch player. She had earned a spot on the team, and she had practised hard. Once again, she was just underestimating her abilities. She smiled a real smile.

"You know what? You're absolutely right," Jane said.

Remus' eyebrows lifted as he peered at her from over his book. Aaron just smirked.

"I always am," he said. "It's one of my many talents."

Jane giggled in the most girlish way when he smirked which caused him to laugh a bit.

"Just remember, it's not like you're going to _die,_" Aaron teased before leaving, which caused Jane to laugh.

Sirius' jaw dropped, and he looked at Jane. Jane turned to see his expression, and shrugged.

"It was funny when _he_ said it," was all she said.

James was beside her in no time with a plate of food.

"Why was he talking to you?" James asked.

"Relax, James. He was only giving me some advice," Jane said picking through the food.

"I don't like him," James said.

"_Really?_ I had _no_ clue." Jane said, sarcastically.

James scowled at her.

"What? You've told me that like a thousand times, yet he has _always_ been nice to me."

"I've known him a lot longer than you have, Jane. When Ashby's 'nice,' it's usually because he wants something," James said.

"Maybe _you're_ just creating a problem that isn't there," Jane said before filling her mouth with mashed potatoes.

"Whatever, just eat," James said, folding his arms and frowning.

By eleven o'clock, almost everybody was in the stands. A nervous feeling crept over Jane again as she took the field.

_Just breathe,_ she kept thinking to herself. _You're a great Quidditch player._

Jane looked down at the gold nineteen that was on her scarlet Quidditch robes. Nineteen was her official number.

_Candice chose you to play. You're first line for a reason,_ she kept thinking.

Madam Hooch blew her whistle, and Jane kicked off of the ground. And the game was on. James had the quaffle and was already shooting down the field to score. Jarod and Jane were on his flanks in a Hawkshead Attacking Formation.

However effective this was formation was supposed to be, Slytherin was still able to break the three of them apart. Two Slytherin Chasers were gaining on James. Jane caught up and flew above James and slightly to the right.

Once she called out to him, James threw the quaffle up to her. Jane dodged a bludger, and Sirius went after it. Once Jarod was open, Jane threw the ball to him, but his way to the goals became blocked, and he threw it back to her.

Suddenly, all three of Slytherin's Chasers were coming at her from different angles; she nearly had a heart attack.

"Jane! Point three!" James shouted.

When she heard that, she grinned. That was their code for her favourite move. The Porskoff Ploy.

She instantly shot upwards. She kept flying, up and up and up, adrenaline pumping through her veins, until all three Slytherin Chasers were right on her tail. Once she had them where she wanted them, she quickly looped backwards, turned, and threw the quaffle as hard as she could to James who was far below her, and far away from the opposing Chasers. There was no one there to stop James from entering the scoring area.

Jane held her breath as James threw the quaffle. The Slytherin Keeper barely missed it, and it went through the left goal post.

Jane punched a fist in the air in excitement. The score was now ten to nothing. Gryffindor was winning, and Jane was eager to keep it that way.

* * *

The game was now ninety to thirty with Gryffindor in the lead. Jane had just scored her third goal of the game and was circling the goal posts with Jarod in victory. Jane stopped when she saw Brenton streaking across the pitch, Sirius' little brother, Regulus, right behind him.

It all happened so fast. Brenton's hand shot out in front of him and the crowd erupted into roars of excitement once they saw the little Snitch clutched in his hands. Madam Hooch blew her whistle, signalling the end of the match.

"Yes!" Jane shouted in excitement.

Jane felt alive. The first game she had ever played in, and they had won by two hundred and ten points. She high-fived Jarod, and the two of them went back to circling the goal posts and laughing in triumph.

Suddenly, a bludger shot right towards the two of them. Jane and Jarod both tried to fly away, but Jane didn't move quick enough, and a sickening crack could be heard as the bludger collided with Jane's ankle.

Jane cried out in pain, but she was quickly drowned out by the angry shouts of the spectators. James looked around and spotted Avery, the Beater for the Slytherin team. He had a wry smile on his face. He had deliberately hit the bludger at the two Gryffindor Chasers after the game had ended.

When Jane touched the ground, Jarod and their Keeper, Will, were there to help her. They sat her on the ground gently, but then another wave of shouting rippled through the crowd. Jane looked to see that James had knocked Avery to the ground. He was now on top of him, throwing punches.

Jarod and Will quickly left Jane to go and try to pull James off of Avery.

Jane's ankle was throbbing. It had already swollen to twice it's size and was starting to turn a dark, bluish colour. She didn't need Madam Pomfrey to look at it to know that it was broken. She waited for things on the pitch to get calmed down and sorted out, and then, someone helped her limp up to the Hospital Wing.


	45. Chapter 44

**A/N****: Lovely readers, I just wanted to say thanks to all of you, especially to the ones that have reviewed. I reached 100 reviews recently, and that just really makes me so happy. So thank you, and I hope you guys continue to love the story:)**

* * *

Chapter 44:

Madam Pomfrey fixed Jane's ankle in a heartbeat. Of course, that did not mean Jane was free to go. Madam Pomfrey wanted to keep her overnight. Unfortunately, that meant Jane would miss the victory party. The first victory party where she had actually contributed to the victory, and she couldn't go. It was just her luck.

Apparently, it didn't matter that she was missing the party because it felt like half of Gryffindor house was visiting her. There were her roommates, Remus, Peter, Sirius, and the rest of the Quidditch team, and even the Prewett twins showed up. Well, James had yet to make it, but he was probably in a lot of trouble; he certainly had a few detentions in his near future.

"That was some great flying today, Jane," Will said.

"Yeah," Brenton said. "That Avery's a tosser. Hopefully, James gave him what he deserved."

"_Hopefully,_" Candice butted in, "he's not suspended from the Quidditch team."

Jane straightened up in the bed, concern plastered on her face.

"Can they do that?" she asked.

Candice sighed and shrugged a bit.

"Yeah, if they think its necessary."

"Ugh!" Jane exclaimed as she fell back into her propped up pillows.

"Relax," Sirius said, "he'll probably get off with a few detentions. It's no big deal. Besides, Avery had it coming. It's a good thing I didn't get to him first. It's a lot easier to kill someone with a Beater's bat than it is your bare hands."

Sirius smirked and hit his Beater's bat against his hand as he said this.

"James wouldn't have _killed_ him," Jane said.

"Well…" Remus started, smiling.

Jane smiled, hit him playfully, and shook her head.

"It was kind of hot," Mary said in a dreamy sort of voice.

Everyone just looked at her and got really quiet.

"Mary," Alice said after the moment of silence, "don't talk."

"No, please, let her keep talking."

Everybody turned to see James walking though the doors of the Hospital Wing. Mary blushed and looked at the floor.

"Move," James said to Peter, taking his spot at the foot of Jane's bed. "You all right?"

Jane nodded.

"My ankle's fixed; it's just a little sore, but Madam Pomfrey's keeping me here. You know how she is. What about you?"

"A week's worth of detention, but other than that, I'm off the hook," he said.

Jane heard Candice let out a sigh of relief. Jane smiled.

"You know you shouldn't have done it," she said.

"_He_ shouldn't be an arse. I don't let people hurt my friends," James replied.

After that, Madam Pomfrey came to shoo them all away, much to Jane's chagrin, and Jane was left all alone in the Hospital Wing with nothing to do but think.

The Quidditch game was so much fun. It had been a rush of excitement from the start to the very end, and she couldn't wait to do it again. Unfortunately, Gryffindor's next game wasn't until February.

Jane also couldn't wait to tell her parents about the thirty points she had scored. Two summers ago, Jane had had her work cut out for her as she tried to explain the sport to her parents. She had never been really good at Muggle sports; her father would be so proud. She smiled just thinking about it.

Jane looked over at the nightstand beside the bed where Lily had put her camera. She had asked Lily to take some pictures of her first game; she couldn't wait to get them developed. As soon as Madam Pomfrey let her go, she'd go to Hogsmeade. They were going to turn out so great.

Later on that night, after Madam Pomfrey had went to her bed chambers, Jane lay awake. The beds in the Hospital Wing weren't as comfortable as the dorm beds. Jane, it seemed, had been cursed with an especially lumpy mattress that made sleeping very difficult.

So, when the door to the Hospital Wing opened that night, Jane was awake to hear it. She sat up in her bed and squinted through the dark. She saw a figure moving through the dark, and it was moving towards her. Suddenly, there was a bump, as though the person had run into something.

"Shit," the person cursed.

Jane's brow furrowed when she recognised the voice.

"Aaron?"

Aaron sat on the edge of her bed.

"Hi," he said.

"Hi," she said, laughing a bit. "What are you doing?"

"Coming to visit you, of course," he said.

There was a rustling as he held something out for her.

"Got you some flowers," he said. "They're a lot nicer when you can see them."

Jane laughed.

"Wait," Aaron said, pulling something out. "_Lumos!_"

The tip of his wand illuminated the small area around them. Jane's looked at the flowers.

"Uh, Aaron," she started, "these are from one of the centrepieces in the Great Hall."

"Well, as you probably know, there's a huge lack of flowers on the grounds in November, and I didn't think you'd want anything from the greenhouses that might eat you or something, so this was this best I could do," he said.

"Well, in that case, they're lovely," Jane said, smiling.

She sat them on the nightstand.

"So did stealing flowers from the Great Hall take you this long or did you get lost?" Jane asked.

"Well, I was going to come see you earlier, but I didn't feel like Potter and Black would've liked that very much, and trying to get past Madam Pomfrey after visiting hours is, well, near impossible," Aaron explained.

Jane smiled yet again.

"Do you maybe want to get out of here? Go down to the lake or something? I brought you one of my cloaks, so you wouldn't get cold," Aaron said.

Jane's heart started to race. He was being so nice to her. And he was one of the cutest guys in Hogwarts. And, forget the age difference, lately she actually felt like she had a shot with him, like he really liked her.

"I'd like that," she said.


	46. Chapter 45

Chapter 45:

Aaron and Jane snuck quietly out of the Hospital Wing and out of the castle, which was difficult enough with Jane's sore ankle. They talked about her Quidditch match as they walked down to the Black Lake. He was telling her how great she had done, and that now she knew that she had nothing to worry about.

They sat against a large beech tree and looked out at the lake. It was kind of cloudy out; they could hardly see any stars. The half-moon peaked out from behind the moving clouds on occasion, casting a little bit of light down on the lake.

Aaron talked about how much harder fifth year was, about all the stress it put people through to do really good and to figure out what they wanted to do with their lives. It kind of scared Jane. Sure, her fifth year was two years away, but she had no clue what she wanted to do with her life. She had no clue what jobs were even needed in the wizarding community.

After swallowing her pride, she finally told him how little she knew of the wizarding world outside of Hogwarts. He just chuckled a bit. He said that it was okay, that they loaded you down with pamphlets in your fifth year that had tons of things she could decide on.

"I assure you, you're not that far behind. Even kids that grew up in magical homes have no clue what they want to do," he said.

"What do you want to do?" Jane asked.

"Honestly," Aaron said, turning to look at her, "I have no clue."

Jane laughed with him.

"I'm serious," he said, still laughing, "they expect you to have your life figured out at fifteen, and it's ridiculous!"

"Well, I have two more years before I have to worry about it," Jane said.

"Hey, that's what _I_ thought. And here I am, still not knowing. And with everything that's happening in the world right now, I think it's just going to make everything a lot more difficult."

Jane thought back to Remus' issue of the _Daily Prophet_ that she had read the other day. She remembered reading something about a dark wizard rising. She remembered that it had scared her. It reminded her that even in this exciting life that she lived, bad things still happened in it. Wizards and witches could turn bad just like Muggles could, and they were a lot more dangerous.

"You don't think things will get better by then? I mean, by the time we've graduated and are finding jobs?" Jane asked.

Aaron shrugged.

"My dad works really high up in the Ministry, with Potter's dad, and he says it's actually a lot worse than the _Prophet's_ letting on. Some people have been disappearing, a few more than what the paper says."

"Oh," was all Jane could say.

She began to chew on the inside of her lip. It was getting really awful out there in the real world. She pulled Aaron's cloak tighter around her, breathing in his scent on it, and trying to feel a sense of protection from all of the bad going on in the world. But before Jane had any chance to feel better, light flooded around them.

"What do you two think you're doing?"

The two students scurried to their feet to see Professor Sprout, her good-natured face twisted into a frown.

Sprout escorted them back up to the castle where she took twenty points each from their houses and gave them a detention for the following morning.

Jane walked back to the Hospital Wing, Aaron's cloak still wrapped around her. As she lay in her bed, she wasn't worried about her detention.

_Totally worth it,_ she thought as she closed her eyes.

* * *

"What do you mean, 'you have a detention?'" James exclaimed the next morning at breakfast. "When?"

"In about fifteen minutes," Jane said, looking at Remus' watch.

"Where?" James asked.

"The greenhouses," she replied.

"_Why?_" James asked.

Jane shrugged indifferently.

"Just got caught out of bed after hours."

"You _what?_" James asked.

"You've gotten detentions for that very same reason a thousand times," Jane said.

"Yeah, but no one ever sneaks out of bed alone. Who were you with?" Sirius asked.

"None of your business, that's who," Jane said.

"No, tell us," James said.

"No, you'll get all mad and vengeful," she said.

"_Ashby?!_" James exclaimed.

"I never said it was him!" Jane argued.

"Well, you said, 'mad' and 'vengeful,' and I highly doubt you were walking about the grounds with Snape, so it's pretty obvious," Remus said.

"Especially with the way she fawns over the git," Sirius said.

"He is _not_ a git," Jane defended. "And I don't _fawn_ over him," she added. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a detention to get to."

Jane left the boys and walked down to the greenhouses. Halfway there, Aaron caught up with her and apologised for getting her a detention.

"Hey, it's just as much my fault as it was yours. I didn't _have_ to go with you," she said.

"You say that, but people find it hard to resist my charm," he said, flashing Jane a grin.

She laughed and rolled her eyes playfully.

Jane had hoped they would serve their detention together, but Jane was stuck in Greenhouse Three, watering the Umbrella flowers, while Aaron was in Greenhouse Two, repotting Mandrakes.

Jane knew she got the easy detention for two reasons: 1) she was one of Professor Sprout's best students and 2) she was just a 'little girl.' For some reason, everyone saw her as this sweet, innocent, and naïve girl. When it came to Ashby, that was how James liked to treat her as well. She hated it. Of course, she wasn't about to complain about an easy detention.

After a while of spraying the huge Umbrella flowers with water, she heard angry voices coming from Greenhouse Two. She walked over to the greenhouse Aaron was in to find him arguing with James and Sirius.

"Guys, guys, _guys!_" Jane shouted over them. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I was just telling him to stay away from you," James said.

"You can't tell me what to do," Aaron said.

"Guys, you need to leave before Professor Sprout comes back and puts _you two_ in detention. There are five other greenhouses to choose from," Jane said.

"I don't like you hanging out with him. I've told you that," James said to Jane.

"I know, James, but just because you don't like him, doesn't mean he's a bad guy. Aaron's my friend; I like hanging out with him. And if you can't handle that, then I'm sorry. You're just going to have to deal with it somehow," Jane told him adamantly.

James opened his mouth like he was about to say something, but Jane shushed him.

"I'm going to finish my detention first, and then we can talk about it. Now, please go before Professor Sprout catches you here."

And with that, Jane walked back to Greenhouse Three. James sighed.

"Looks like you're not getting rid of me that easily, Potter," Aaron said, smirking mischievously.

James blood boiled, and he rounded on Aaron.

"If you hurt her, I swear I'll—"

"You'll what?" Aaron asked sarcastically, interrupting James.

"We'll rip you to pieces," Sirius finished.


	47. Chapter 46

**A/N: I know you guys are dying to know about Aaron and his feelings for Jane and all that good stuff. But you're going to have to keep reading before you know; I'm not telling you! Muahahahahaha! Anyway, to make up for that, I'm going to give you all something else you've been waiting for. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 46:

Almost a week had passed, and no matter how hard James tried to convince Jane that Aaron Ashby was a terrible person, she still wanted to be his friend. In fact, however hard James tried to pull her away from Ashby, she seemed to try twice as hard to get back to him. So, against the will of James Potter, Jane and Aaron became really good friends. And it was one of the hardest things he had ever had to deal with.

But on the night of the tenth, James had bigger things to worry about than that slime ball, Ashby. Remus had been sick again today; he was currently supposed to be staying in the Hospital Wing. This was the third time this school year that he had gotten sick, and James' suspicions had been growing over recent discoveries he and Sirius had made. Jane, unfortunately, wouldn't listen to them when it came to this subject.

As the common room cleared out that night, and Jane finally went up to bed, James, Sirius, and Peter all huddled under James' invisibility cloak and left through the portrait hole. They were headed to the Hospital Wing, trying to prove to themselves that they were not making things up in their heads.

Once they made their way down to the Hospital Wing, they silently crept from bed to bed, checking everywhere for Remus. However, he was nowhere to be found. James had a mind to drag Jane out of bed and show her that Remus wasn't here, that Remus obviously _was_ hiding something, but he didn't.

"Well," Sirius started, "what do we do now?"

James sighed.

"We wait," he said.

The trio of friends sat in the far corner of the Hospital Wing. This way, they'd be able to see any and all movement, or at least they could _kind_ of see it through the dark.

"We're supposed to stay awake _all night?_" Peter complained.

"Of course we are, you git. That was the plan," Sirius said, smacking him in the arm.

"Ouch!"

"Hush! Both of you. Just because we're invisible doesn't mean people can't still _hear_ us," James said.

* * *

"Guys. Guys, wake up!" James whispered in a harsh tone, shaking Sirius and Peter awake.

"Get off," Sirius mumbled as he pushed a sleeping Peter off of him.

"What time is it?" Peter mumbled.

"Early," James said. "The sun's just only started to come up."

James pointed towards the door, where Madam Pomfrey was rushing a student inside. They watched as the student crawled into a bed and waited for Madam Pomfrey to finish tending to him. Then, after Pomfrey closed the curtains around that bed in particular and walked to her office, they all three peeked behind the curtains to find Remus, looking just as sickly as ever.

James yanked the invisibility cloak off of them and pulled the curtains around them. Remus almost let out a yelp of surprise, but Sirius quickly put a hand over his mouth.

"Shush!" he ordered before removing his hand.

"What are you three doing here?" Remus asked.

"Why so startled to see us? We always come and visit you," James said innocently.

"Yeah, but it's just– it's so _early,_" he said. "You don't usually come until after breakfast."

"Actually, we came last night, but, and funny thing really, you weren't here," Sirius said. "Care to enlighten us on that?"

"I, uh, I–I did wake up last night. I had to go to the loo. Maybe you came then," Remus stuttered.

James shook his head.

"Not a chance, mate, we stayed here all night."

"Why have you been lying to us?" Sirius asked. "And think about this before you answer: we already know the truth."

"Wh-what do you mean?" Remus asked.

"You know," James started, "we didn't _really_ put the dots together until a few weeks ago. Obviously, we knew you had been getting sick a lot."

"Then," Sirius continued, "we put it together that you got sick once every month, but still, we were kind of lost as to what that meant. You know, we never would have figured it out if it hadn't been for Janie."

Remus' brow furrowed.

"You see, last school year, when Jane didn't make first string, Sirius and I decided that we'd help her. So once every month we'd go out in the middle of the night so that Jane could practice with the quaffle," James said.

"What does this have to do with me?" Remus asked.

"Well, just recently it was recalled to our memories that every night we took Janie to practice was a night that _you,_" Sirius said, pointing at him, "were in the Hospital Wing."

"Mere coincidence," Remus said.

"No, mate, we don't think it was," James said. "You see, every night we took Jane out for practice was every night on the _full moon._"

"We know, Remus," Sirius said.

Remus swallowed hard. He hadn't wanted anybody to know, but James and Sirius were two of the smartest guys he knew. Eventually, they would have. Maybe he had just hoped that they wouldn't have gotten suspicious. But now they knew, yet they weren't running for their lives.

"So why are you here? Why are standing so close to me? You should be avoiding me like the plague. Anybody else would," Remus said.

James sat down on the edge of the hospital bed.

"Because we're your friends. Just because you are what you are doesn't mean you deserved to be treated any less," he said.

Remus half smiled. Was he actually hearing them correctly? They knew what he was, but _still_ wanted to be friends with him? He wanted to cry, but he thought that that might be followed by ridicule. Besides, he had another problem to worry about.

"Does Jane know?" Remus asked frantically.

"Not yet," James said.

"Yeah, she said that she didn't want anything to do with this. She told us that you weren't hiding anything. I can't wait to tell her 'I told you so,'" Sirius said, smiling a bit.

"No," Remus said a bit too loudly. "Please, don't tell her."

"Come on, Remus. It's Jane," James said. "She our friend. She's _your_ friend."

"I know. Believe me, I know, but I'm not sure she'd be as– understanding as you are," Remus said.

"It's _Janie_ were talking about, Remus," Sirius said. "She's not going to run away from you."

"You guys don't get it. Last month, she was flipping through her Defence book and saw a page on– well, on what _I_ am, and she told me how scared she'd been of them ever since she figured out that they really existed," Remus said. "Then, back at the end of October, when you guys were checking out the Shrieking Shack, she just kept talking about how scary she thought it was and how she didn't like it."

"What does _that_ have to do with you?" James asked.

"Because, _I'm_ the reason it's even _called_ the Shrieking Shack. I'm the reason that everyone thinks it's haunted. That's where I go when I transform. All the screaming the villagers hear is me. The one thing in the world that Jane is scared of more than anything is the monster in the Shrieking Shack, and _I'm_ the monster!" Remus said.

They boys were quiet for a while.

"She wouldn't be scared if she knew it was you," James said.

Remus just shook his head.

"You don't know that," he said quietly. "She's a good friend, and the thought of her being too scared to be around me, it's– I don't want that. I mean, _you_ weren't even supposed to know. I didn't _want_ you to know. You found out, and I have to live with that, but Jane, she doesn't _have_ to know."

"But—"

"Please?" Remus begged. "Don't tell her."

James sighed and looked at Remus. No matter how wrong James thought Remus was about Jane, it wasn't his place to tell her.

"All right, mate. We won't tell her," James agreed.

Remus looked relieved.

"Oh, hey, before we leave," Sirius said. "I was wondering how you liked the nickname, Moony. I've been dying to call you that ever since we found out."

Remus kind of laughed.

"I'd rather you not."

"I think I'm going to anyway," Sirius said with a straight face.


	48. Chapter 47

Chapter 47:

Throughout November, the boys had managed to keep Remus' secret from Jane. James had also come up with a way to help Remus out, but he was going to need a lot of time for it. The process didn't come quickly. The spectacular map they had been working on since their first year had to be put away for their new project. On occasion, Jane had found James and Sirius in the library pouring over really advance Transfiguration material, which she found rather odd. However, when asked about it, the boys said it was merely for curiosity's sake.

Jane, much to James' chagrin, had been hanging out with Aaron more and more. They had become such great friends, and all James could do was watch, seeing as how Jane refused to listen to him about the subject. She hadn't listened to him about Remus either, and look who turned out correct? Of course, he couldn't tell her that.

On the nineteenth of December, Jane and the boys boarded the Hogwarts Express and started on their way back to London. Jane's stomach was in a knot the entire way to Kings Cross a) because of the detention she had gotten back at the beginning of November and b) because of Sarah.

Her parents were going to be mad at her, no matter how many Quidditch pictures she showed them. And Sarah, well, Jane was just wondering how weird this holiday was going to be. After all, Sarah only lived a few houses over. It'd be strange to see her after what had happened between them. They hadn't once communicated since that day at Sarah's mum's wedding.

Jane almost didn't want to get off the train, and once she did, she prolonged the saying of goodbyes for as long as she could before she walked through the barrier. She only had to look at her dad to know what he was thinking. He had this we'll-talk-about-it-in-the-car look on his face, so he obviously hadn't forgotten about her detention.

They walked to the car in silence, and Jane climbed into the backseat. As soon as the car got on the road, her dad started in.

"Jane, how could you?" he asked.

"I missed you too, Dad," Jane said, sarcasm dripping from her voice.

"Stop it, Janie," her mum said.

Jane just shook her head and stared out the window.

"We just don't understand what's been wrong with you this past year," her dad said. "Sneaking out after curfew, Jane? _Why_ would you do that?"

"I don't know," Jane said in a monotone voice.

"You don't know?" her father said.

"Yup," Jane said, wishing she were with James and Sirius.

"I can't talk to her, Mary," Jane's dad said to her mum. "It's not doing any good. She's just going to sit there and mock us—"

"Don't talk about me like I'm not here," Jane said, getting annoyed.

"Well, tell us what's going on with you! Getting into fights. Sneaking out. Lying to us and going off to a friend's house without our permission. For heavens _sake,_ just last school term, you got a detention for calling a teacher a foul name!" Jane's dad said.

"Hey! _I_ didn't call him anything; it was Sirius! But the tosser, who, might I add, doesn't even work at the school anymore, decided to give us _all_ a detention. It wasn't even my fault," Jane said.

"No, it was those friends you hang around. Maybe they're whats wrong with you. You didn't have this whole attitude problem before you starting going to that school," her father said.

"There's nothing wrong with my friends," Jane defended. "They're nice to me, and they care about me."

"I think they're bad influences," her father said.

"Well, I don't _care_ what you think," Jane blurted out.

* * *

"To your room, now," Jane's dad commanded as soon as they walked through the door of the house.

Jane gladly obliged. She quickly ran up the stairs and into her room. She slammed the door behind her and flopped down on her bed. She stared at the ceiling. She had basically gotten yelled at the whole ride home after what she had said. But her parents didn't know what they were talking about, and they _definitely_ didn't have the right to talk down about her friends.

Of course, she knew she shouldn't have done it. She knew she shouldn't have egged it on. She should have gotten in the car and kept her mouth shut. But lately, it seemed that she couldn't help herself. She just _had_ to make a sarcastic remark. She just _had_ to get the last word in. She just _had_ to get defensive. She just had to—try to hurt someone.

She was definitely hurting her family. She felt terrible about it. She knew it was her fault. Her parents had fought before, but now whenever they fought it was about her. The problem was, Jane would say or do whatever she wanted to without thinking about the repercussions. Then later, when her parents were fighting, or she just had time to think about it, it made her feel like an awful person. It didn't have that same adrenaline rush that it had had before. Now, it was just habitual. And she didn't really like it anymore, but she almost couldn't help it now.

She could hear her parents yelling at each other downstairs.

"You still think she's _fine,_ Mary? Still think it's just a _stage?_"

"Stop yelling at me, Patrick."

"What are we going to do, Mary? She's getting more and more out of control."

"I know, Patrick! I know! We'll talk about it tomorrow. Okay?"

"No, we need to talk about it right now. We need to do something about this now. Not later."

"Oh, what are we going to do? Put her on restriction? Give her another reason to hate coming home?"

"Mary, you're not still on about that? That happened months ago."

"Well, it still hurts, okay? She's my daughter, and she didn't come home because she'd rather spend her time with some other family."

"Just because your feelings are hurt, doesn't mean you should stop being a parent. You hardly wanted to do anything about her fighting this summer because you were afraid she wouldn't like you or something!"

"Don't talk to me like I don't know how to be a good mother!"

"Well, right now, you don't! You're too worried about her liking you, but you're not supposed to be her friend! You're supposed to be her mum!"

"What am I supposed to do, Patrick? Go upstairs and yell at her like you do? Because that's _really_ worked for you so far!"

"I'd like you to do _something!_ Something other than standing there and pretending she did nothing wrong! You're the reason she doesn't respect us! You're the reason she thinks she can get away with anything around here!"

"That is _not_ true! I know how to discipline my daughter!"

"Obviously not."

There was a crash, as though someone had dropped a dinner plate on the ground. Jane vaguely realised that she had yet to eat dinner, but she wasn't about to go downstairs.

"Oh, that's nice, Mary. Just throw a tantrum whenever you hear something you don't like! That's great! _That's_ where she gets it after!"

"Leave me alone!"

"No! You know, I gave up my whole life when I married you! My parents didn't want me to, but I did because it was the right thing to do after you were already pregnant with Jane—"

Jane froze. She had known her dad's parents had disowned him for marrying her mum, but she hadn't known about _this._

"And _I've_ been the one that had to try and make this family work for thirteen years! Between _you_ and your disorder and between our daughter and her tantrums, and you two just to seem to keep making things harder. You know, I could've turned my back on you. I could've left you as a single mother, and hell, I'd probably still be living off my parents' money right now. And you know what? Sometimes, I wish that's what I would've done!"

Jane's breath caught in her throat.

"You don't mean that, Patrick," came Jane's mum's voice.

But whether he did mean it or not wasn't important to Jane. He had said it. Unchecked tears streamed down her cheeks as she sat on her bed, clutching a pillow. She was so destructive. She had destroyed her friendship with Sarah. She was destroying her family. And now, she learned that she had been ruining her parents' lives since before she was even born. She was just a terrible person through and through.

Maybe the world would've been a better place if she hadn't been born at all.


	49. Chapter 48

Chapter 48:

The rest of the Christmas holidays were awful. Jane hardly spoke to her parents. She would take long walks up and down Longstock Road. She'd disappear to the River Test until nightfall. Other days, she just wouldn't come out of her room. She'd just sit on her bed and listen to her records. On occasion, she'd see Sarah walking down the street with Sean. She assumed they were dating now; they would always be holding hands. Jane also noticed that Sarah had dyed her hair back to blonde.

Jane always felt a twinge of guilt whenever she saw Sarah. Their friendship had ended because of her. She also felt guilty about her parents. They would fight almost every night now, either that, or they wouldn't talk to each other. She spent the whole of her holidays wanting to go back to Hogwarts.

So when the second of January came, Jane was more than happy to wake up exceptionally early to go to the station with her mum. She tried to board the train quickly, but her mother held her back.

"Janie, wait."

Jane sighed. She looked up to see James, Sirius, and Remus boarding the train. Remus had stopped when he spotted her. She looked away.

"I know your father and I have been disagreeing a lot lately. And I know you think that it's your fault, but—"

"Because it is," Jane said, staring at her feet.

"No, darling, it's not," her mother said.

"Mum, I've heard what you and Dad fight about. The walls are like paper in our house. I still can't believe you haven't figured that out," Jane said.

"You've heard—_everything_ we've fought about?" her mum asked in a semi-worried tone.

Jane looked up at her mother.

"I'm just going to go get on the train now."

"Janie, wait," her mum called after her, but it was no use; she was already getting on the train.

"What was that about?" Remus had asked as Jane passed him.

"Nothing," she lied; she didn't really feel like telling her friends about how she was slowly but surely tearing her family apart.

The whole ride back to Hogwarts, Jane just stared out of the window. No one seemed to notice, however. The boys were too busy reading a very large Transfiguration book. Jane only vaguely noted that it had something to do with Animagi, but she didn't ask. She knew that they were planning something, and whatever it was was bound to fail miserably. Either that or get them into really big trouble. Besides, if they had wanted her to know, they would have told her, and it kind of hurt her feelings that they hadn't.

Later on, after they had arrived at Hogwarts, Jane decided to go up to bed early. She didn't feel like being around so many people who were constantly asking how her holidays had gone.

_Oh, you know,_ Jane would think sarcastically to herself, _same old thing. Just ruining my parents' marriage. How was your holiday?_

Of course, she never said this out loud. Why let people know what an awful daughter she was?

After a while of just laying there and staring at the canopy of her bed, Alice busted through the door with Mary right behind her. Alice plopped down on Jane's bed and looked at her.

"What?" Jane asked, still staring at the canopy.

"Happy New Year to you too, arsehole," Alice said, but she was smiling.

Jane rolled her eyes.

"Happy New Year," she said.

"Your boyfriends are looking for you," Mary said.

It was an ongoing jokes between Jane's roommates to call James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter Jane's "boyfriends." After all, she was with them all of the time, and it was much quicker to call them that than by their names.

"Tell them I'm asleep," Jane said.

"But you're not," Alice said. "You're never up to bed this early. What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Jane lied again.

"It's obviously something," Alice continued.

Jane sighed.

"I said it's nothing," she said, getting off her bed.

"Where are you going?" Mary asked.

"My boyfriends await my presence," she said jokingly before leaving the dorm.

Jane walked down to the common room and found the boys in their usual spot. Peter moved from her favourite spot on the couch, and Jane sat down.

"All right," Sirius said. "What's up with you?"

Jane put on a smile.

"Nothing. Why does everyone keep asking me that?"

"Probably because you have a terrible fake smile," James said. "Did something happen?"

Jane sighed. They weren't going to leave her alone until she gave them a reason.

"Yeah, over the Christmas break, Sarah and I got into it again," she lied.

"Oh," James said.

"Did you break her nose this time?" Sirius asked with a grin.

"If I say 'yes' will you leave me alone?" Jane asked.

"No," he said.

Jane just laughed and was thankful when James changed the conversation to Quidditch. Now that was a topic she could lose herself in. And before she knew it, she didn't feel terrible anymore. All she was thinking about was their upcoming match against Hufflepuff the following month.


	50. Chapter 49

**A/N****: To those of you that have checked out the blog that I've set up for this fanfiction, thank you so much, and a special thanks to those of you that have left me questions. Again, if you want to check that site out, the link is in my profile bio.**

* * *

Chapter 49:

Almost four weeks had passed, and Jane was back to herself again. She had immersed herself in her schoolwork and Quidditch once more. She was currently trying, and failing, to stay awake in her History of Magic class.

Peter kicked her seat for what seemed like the hundredth time; his foot was getting sore. Jane jolted awake.

"What?"

"You're falling asleep again," he said.

Jane sighed, and picked her quill back up. History of Magic had always been her least favourite class, but she still had to get good marks in there.

After class ended, Jane walked with the boys up to Gryffindor Tower to get ready for lunch. Jane ran up to her room, quickly dumped her Defence and History stuff on her bed, and replaced it with her Charms and Care of Magical Creatures books. Then, she headed down to the Great Hall for lunch.

Monday lunches were always the quietest it seemed. The first day of the week mixed in with a class like History, which drained a person of everything they had, made for very tired third years. They were just happy to get food into their systems.

Halfway through her lunch, Jane looked up at the Ravenclaw table, and she saw something that could liven up any Monday lunch. Aaron was looking at her. Her first instinct was to look away, but she stopped herself and decided on a braver course of action. She waved at him.

Aaron smirked and waved back, causing Jane's stomach to do a little flip. Then, he nodded towards the door of the Great Hall with a look that obviously asked, "wanna walk with me?"

Jane smiled and nodded. She stood up, pushing her half-eaten plate away from her.

"Where are you off to?" Sirius asked.

She almost lied to them. She _would've_ lied to them, but she saw that damned Transfiguration book in James' bag under the table. It reminded her that they were keeping something from her. So despite the fact that they were going to lecture her later, she figured she'd tell them something that they didn't want to hear: the truth.

"You know what," she said, slinging her bag over her shoulder. "I'm going to hang out with Aaron for a bit."

"Jane, I—"

"See you in Charms," Jane said, cutting James off before briskly walking away.

Aaron was already waiting for her at the entrance of the Great Hall.

"Well, here I am, gracing you with my presence," Jane stated boldly.

Aaron grinned and bowed a very low bow.

"How gracious of you, m'lady," he said over-dramatically.

Jane laughed, and Aaron spotted James, who was watching him with a scowl marking his features.

"It seems your Court Jesters are none too happy about you spending time with me," Aaron said, smirking.

"They never are," Jane said.

"Well, would you fancy a walk with me anyway?" Aaron asked.

"I would be delighted."

And the pair walked away.

"So that game against Slytherin was pretty rough last week," Jane said. "They almost had you beat."

"_Almost_ being the key word," Aaron said. "It appears as though the only team that really stands in the way of Ravenclaw and the Cup is Gryffindor."

"We aren't just standing in the way, mate. The Cup is definitely _ours,_" Jane said playfully.

"Oh, someone's Miss Confident all of the sudden. What happened to the girl that was scared speechless before her first match?" Aaron asked.

"She met an extraordinary boy that gave her some wonderful advice," Jane said, smiling.

"Well, he sounds like a troublemaker," Aaron jested. "You should watch yourself around him."

"So everyone keeps informing me," Jane said as she started to laugh.

They continued to walk and talk like that for a while, laughing and losing track of the time. Aaron, it seemed, was being exceptionally nice to Jane. He had complimented her four times (and she had blushed every time), and he laughed at all of her jokes, no matter how stupid they were. He even offered to carry her school bag.

After they had walked through the castle for a long while, they took to sitting on a staircase.

"So," Aaron said later on, "how badly do your friends hate me?"

Jane chuckled.

"Depends on which friends you ask. My roommates think you're amazing. Peter's intimidated by you; of course, he's intimidated by everyone. And Remus, well, he seems to be rather neutral," Jane said.

"I think we both know which friends I'm talking about," Aaron said, smirking.

Jane grinned.

"Oh, no. Those two still hate your guts," Jane said, referring to James and Sirius. "They like to lecture me about how you're this terrible person that's going to devour my soul or something."

"Ah, yes, that sounds like me. Aaron Phillip Ashby, the soul eating monster," Aaron said.

"You should sign your name like that," Jane joked.

"It'd be interesting on Christmas cards, wouldn't it?" he said, grinning.

Jane laughed, but her laugh quickly caught in her throat once she remembered something.

"Oh, my god, what time is it?" she asked, standing up frantically.

"About a quarter 'til two," Aaron said, looking at his watch.

"I'm half an hour late for Charms class!" Jane said, grabbing her bag.

"Oh," Aaron said. "I'm so sorry. I have a free period right now; I totally forgot that you had class."

"No, it's my fault. You shouldn't have to tell me to go to class," Jane said, looking up at him.

She looked into his eyes, and unsurprisingly, she didn't care that she was late anymore.

"You know, my class is halfway over by now. I should probably just not go," she said, sitting her bag back onto the steps.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Of course," she said, smiling up at him.

"Has anyone ever told you that you have the most beautiful smile?" Aaron asked, looking down at her.

Jane blushed. Yes, it sounded like a really bad line. Yes, it was corny and trite and cliché. But Aaron had said it, and to Jane, that made all the difference.

Almost out of nowhere, his hand was brushing her cheek. Jane's stomach erupted with so many butterflies that she thought she might get sick. Thankfully, she didn't because in the next instant Aaron's lips had captured hers.

_Holy shit,_ Jane thought, _he's kissing me! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! What do I do?_

Jane just kissed him back to the best of her ability. She had once overheard this fifth year girl telling her friends that girls were natural kissers, and boy, did Jane hope that that was the truth right now, because this whole tongue thing was a lot weirder than she'd thought it be.

"Ahem."

Jane and Aaron immediately separated, and Jane, who was now running on pure hormones, was fully prepared to slap the person that had interrupted her very first kiss. That was until she turned to see Professor McGonagall standing behind them.

"Miss Hensworth," McGonagall said, ignoring Aaron completely, "am I correct in assuming that you should be in class with the rest of your fellow Gryffindors?"

Jane took her punishment gladly. Who cared that she had gotten yet _another_ detention? Aaron Ashby had kissed her. He had told her that her smile was beautiful and kissed her right on the lips. Tongue and all. She felt as though she could walk on water.

McGonagall had ordered Jane to her class, and Aaron walked with her, slipping his hand into hers. Jane had never paid so much attention to the sweatiness of her palms.

"Sorry for getting you a detention," Aaron said. "Again," he added as an afterthought.

"It's not your fault," Jane said, still blushing madly from the kiss. "In fact, it was worth it."

Aaron smirked.

"I'm glad you feel that way."

By the time Jane and Aaron got to the door of the Charms classroom, the class had around ten minutes left. So instead of walking into class and looking like a complete idiot, Jane elected to stand outside the doorway.

Right there in that very spot was where Aaron asked her out. Right there in that very spot was where she had said yes. Right there in that very spot was where she had experienced her first ever snogging session. And right there in that very spot, as the students left the Charms classroom, was where James Potter almost had a heart attack.


	51. Chapter 50

Chapter 50:

Try as she might, Jane could not get James to talk to her. No one could get James to talk. He stayed silent for hours. All through Care of Magical Creatures, he said nothing. When the class ended, he said nothing. When they walked to Gryffindor Tower, he said nothing. All the while, Jane followed behind him, begging for him to speak.

She followed him all the way up to the boys' dormitories.

"James, would you _please_ say something? _Anything?_" she was saying.

"I think he's still in shock from seeing you with Ashby's tongue shoved down your throat," Sirius said maliciously; while James wouldn't speak, Sirius kept jeering at her.

"Shut up!" Jane snapped.

"Well, that's what happened!" Sirius retorted. "I mean, just look at him, he's—"

"Sirius, I swear to Merlin, I'm going to cut out your tongue," Jane said.

"Just so long as you don't shove _it_ down your throat too."

Jane lunged at Sirius, but Peter and Remus caught her and held her back. She tried unsuccessfully to push them away as she screamed curses and obscenities at Sirius.

"Jane, calm down," Peter said.

"No! I will not calm down! James won't speak to me, and Sirius won't shut up about it! You guys can be so infuriating sometimes! My first relationship, and you're already ruining it!" she screamed.

"_Relationship?_"

Everybody looked to James. It was as though he were going to explode at any moment.

"Yes," Jane answered him in a much more tentative voice. "Aaron asked me to be his girlfriend, and I said yes."

"Why? _Why_ would you do that?" James asked slowly. "The _one_ guy I hate probably more than anyone, and you–you're his girlfriend. _Why?_"

"He's nice to me," she said quietly, looking at her feet.

"There are _tons_ of nicer people to date than Ashby," James said.

"It wouldn't matter if there were; as soon as I'd like them, you'd come up with a reason to hate them," Jane argued.

"That is not true. I hated Ashby long before I even knew you existed," James defended. "He's _not_ a good person."

"So you keep saying, but where's the _proof?_" Jane asked. "He _likes_ me. And he's _nice_ to me. Nicer to me than even Sirius is, and Sirius is supposed to be my friend."

"You're doing this because Sirius is mean to you? Because I can kick his arse for you if that's what you want," James said desperately.

Sirius scoffed.

"No," Jane replied. "I like him, James. I like him so much, and he makes me happy. Why can't you just see that? Why can't you just be happy for me instead of trying to ruin it?"

"Because I don't want you to get hurt. And I know Ashby; I've known him _way_ longer than you have, and I'm telling you, something's not right here."

"Oh, that's right, because no one in their right _mind_ would like me just because they _like_ me; they _have_ to have an ulterior motive, is that it?"

Jane was on the brink of tears.

"That–that's not what I said," James said.

"Well, it's what I'm hearing," Jane said. "Why can't you just trust me to make a right decision? I can look after myself; I've been doing it for years."

The last part wasn't supposed to slip out. Jane had been referring to all the times her mother would fall into one of her episodes while her father was away on business. And she was referring to the bullies at her old school. And she was referring to when she had stuck up for herself against Sarah when she had called her a bitch. Jane had been referring to a lot of things, but that last part wasn't supposed to slip out of her mouth.

"I do trust you," James said. "I know you're smart—"

"Then why don't you act like it?" Jane asked in a hurt voice. "I'm not as naïve as you think I am."

James sighed, not knowing what to say.

"I can take care of myself," Jane repeated in a voice a little above a whisper.

Nobody in the room said anything, not even Sirius. The tension in the air was so thick that someone could cut it with a knife; it was so prominent that when Frank Longbottom walked into the dorm, he took one look at all of them and walked right back out again. It was very uncomfortable.

"Could you _please_ just give me a chance?" Jane asked desperately. "I'm not saying that you have to be friends with him; you don't even have to _like_ him, but could you at least _try_ and tolerate him? He's not as bad as you like to think that he is."

James remained silent.

"And he's my boyfriend," Jane added quietly. "My first boyfriend, and I'm _really_ excited about it."

James looked down at her. The expression on her face was one of desperation. She needed his approval, otherwise she'd be torn between her friends and her boyfriend. Ashby wasn't making her choose, and James wasn't about to make her either.

Though it pained him to do it, James nodded his head slightly.

"All right," he said.

Jane let out a sigh of relief, and she couldn't stop herself from grinning like an idiot. She wrapped James in a big embrace.

"Thank you," she said happily, letting go of him.

James forced himself to smile down at her. She was just so happy, and she had the type of smile that was contagious. It was unique in the way that it could look devious and reckless while at the same time looking kind and caring, just like her mother's, though James didn't know that. Jane's smile was one of his favourite things.

"I have to go tell Lily," Jane said excitedly. "I have a boyfriend!" she said in an unbelieving tone as she laughed.

James watched as she disappeared from their room. If Ashby ended up ruining that smile of hers, James would hunt him down.

Sirius walked up to him, no longer interested in teasing Jane.

"So you think he'll really hurt her?" he asked in a serious voice; he may have given Jane a hard time, but she was still his friend, and he didn't want to see her get hurt anymore than James did.

James continued to look at the spot where Jane had disappeared from his sight.

"He better not."


	52. Chapter 51

Chapter 51:

Pretty soon, Jane could be seen walking through the castle, hand-in-hand with Aaron. It was exciting, having a boyfriend. He was always so sweet to her, he always offered to carry her books and was telling her how pretty or beautiful she was. She caught on quickly when it came to snogging, it came naturally to her now.

Jane felt as though everything was going great. And it was. Aaron was amazing and gorgeous. James and Sirius were behaving themselves. All her other friends liked him. Other girls were jealous of her. Everything was perfect, and Jane was so happy.

But James was wary. His hate for Ashby still continued, though, admittedly, he had seen how happy Jane was around him, and it lessened the anger he felt towards the guy. But he couldn't stop the nagging sensation telling him that something was still wrong. There was something in the way that Ashby talked when he was around James that made him feel uneasy, as though he were only using Jane to get to him. Something about his demeanour was still disturbing to James.

He had even gone so far as to tag along on Jane and Ashby's first date in Hogsmeade. He and Peter, whom he had dragged along for company, had sat in the corner booth of Madam Puttifoot's Tea Shop under James' invisibility cloak. From there, James kept a watchful eye on Ashby and Jane as they enjoyed their tea.

After a while of nothing untoward happening, Peter had suggested that they leave.

"Maybe you're wrong about him, mate," he had said. "He seems really polite and everything. Maybe you were just overreacting."

However, James had refused to leave until the date was over, no matter how much Peter protested. And nothing happened. Maybe he was just paranoid.

And on Valentine's Day, Aaron had bought Jane a bouquet of red roses and a large box of chocolates. Jane and her roommates had stayed up that night talking about how thoughtful and wonderful he was as they giggled together.

On the sixteenth day of February, Aaron cheered Jane on in Gryffindor's match against Hufflepuff. She went on to score seventy points that game, only ten less than James did. _And_ she did it without being injured. When Brenton had caught the Snitch that game, Jane felt as though she were invincible.

And at the after party, though she didn't drink, Jane still had fun and interacted with people. Then, she had snuck out down to the Black Lake with Aaron, this time without getting caught. Jane remembered looking up at the night sky, Aaron's cloak wrapped tightly around her. Her bum had gone numb from sitting on the frosty ground, but she didn't complain. She was happy.

"You are so beautiful," he had told her.

Jane had smiled and blushed. She still wasn't used to the daily flow of compliments.

"You always say that," she had said.

Aaron had laughed before cupping her delicate chin with his hand.

"And it's always true," he had replied before leaning in to kiss her gently.

What was a gentle kiss had quickly turned into a heated one. His hands had moved from her chin. Jane had remembered his hands traveling lower and lower until they had reached the hem of her shirt. Her heart had pumped hard in her chest, especially when his fingertips had grazed over the bare skin under her shirt as they had travelled back upwards.

Jane had been frantic. Was she ready for that just yet? She was only thirteen, next month she'd be turning fourteen. She pushed his hands back down slightly as they continued to snog. She was still deciding.

His hands slowly crept back up, fingertips now grazing the bottom of her bra. Nope, she was not ready. Her eyes shot open, and she pulled away from him.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

At first Jane didn't say anything. Hopefully, he'd come to the conclusion by himself. But no such luck.

"Well?" he asked.

"I–I, um," she started nervously, "I'm not really ready for that just yet."

Her voice was timid, and she didn't look at him.

"It'll be okay," Aaron coaxed as he tried to go back to snogging her.

However, Jane pushed away from him again, not comfortable with this in the slightest.

"Oh, come on, it'll be okay," he said to her, but she just shook her head.

"I don't– I'm not ready for that," she told Aaron again. "Maybe later, but right now, I just– I'm not really comfortable with it."

Aaron stared at her, his lips pursed. Jane didn't look at him. Was he mad at her? She didn't want him to be mad at her. God, he was going to think she was a prude. Why did she even have to say anything? Why was she always ruining things? Big deal if he touched her breasts. It wasn't like they were about to shag right there on the ground.

Jane felt as though she were going to have an anxiety attack before he finally spoke.

"All right," Aaron said.

Jane snapped her head up to look at him. Did she hear him right? She had heard horror stories of guys breaking it off with girls because they had refused to put out; she really didn't want him to break up with her.

"Really?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said.

"So you're–you're not mad at me, are you?" Jane asked.

He didn't say anything at first, and Jane's heart almost stopped.

"No, of course not. Don't be silly," Aaron said, standing up and helping Jane to her feet.

"I was just worried that, um—"

"Jane," Aaron said.

She looked up at him.

"I'm not going to make you do anything you don't want to do," he said. "So you're not ready. It's okay."

Jane let out a nervous laugh.

"You're a really great person, you know that?" Jane said, relieved.

Aaron smirked.

"Of course I know that," he said as they started to walk back up to the castle.

When Jane got back to the common room, the victory party was coming to an end. She saw the Prewett twins gathering up all the remaining Firewhiskey bottles and talked to them for a while before heading up to her dorm.

Marlene was the only one awake when she got back.

"You're in late," Marlene stated, staring at the canopy of her bed.

"I was out with Aaron," Jane explained. "Why are you still up?"

"Thinking," Marlene said. "I snogged Sirius Black."

Jane gave Marlene an incredulous look.

"Really?" Jane asked. "_Why?_"

"What do you mean, 'why?' He's so handsome and—"

"No, he's so arrogant and so, well, _him,_" Jane said.

Marlene sat up in her bed and looked at Jane.

"You can't tell me that you don't think he's cute," she said.

"I have a boyfriend," Jane replied. "And even if I didn't, I still wouldn't snog Sirius of all people."

"Why not?" Marlene asked.

"I don't know, he's just– I don't know," Jane said, not really able to think of a good reason.

"So are you two, like, together now or what?" Jane asked as she changed into her pyjamas, even though she already knew the answer.

"I don't think we are," Marlene said. "I kind of want to be though."

Jane wanted to tell her that Sirius wasn't really the boyfriend type. He was too full of himself to really have feelings for someone else. However, she stayed quiet. No need to crush Marlene's hopes, though she knew Sirius would.

Jane crawled into bed after saying goodnight to Marlene, and curled up into a ball. In the back of her mind, though Aaron had said it was okay, Jane couldn't help but feel upset. What if he didn't really want to be with her anymore because she wasn't ready? In the back of her mind, she could hear this voice telling her that if he did that, then she shouldn't _want_ to be with him, but she couldn't help it. She really wanted things to work out between them.

She really hoped Aaron had been telling her the truth. She really hoped it _was_ all right to not be ready.


	53. Chapter 52

Chapter 52:

Luckily, Aaron had meant what he had said to Jane. He didn't seem to be mad at her, and he didn't push her to do anything else. Jane had told Lily about it, but nobody else. She couldn't risk it getting back to James; he'd likely end up ripping Aaron's hands off.

Her fourteenth birthday, was luckily on a Hogsmeade weekend, and she and Aaron enjoyed a nice date and he bought her a pretty, little silver bracelet that she absolutely adored.

On the eighth of April, Jane left for the Easter holidays. Aaron had stayed at Hogwarts, and she wished that she could've stayed with him, but after last Easter, her parents were _not_ about to let her stay anywhere but home this year. So she said her goodbyes to him, and boarded the train with her friends.

"How are you _ever_ going to survive without him?" Sirius teased her as they walked into a compartment together.

"Shut up," she said.

"No, seriously, you two haven't been apart for more than a day. You're not going to go through some kind of withdrawal, are you?"

"No, but James might once I kill you," she said threateningly.

"Fair enough," Sirius said, taking a seat and shutting up as Jane had asked.

Suddenly, Jane remembered the detention she had gotten back in January. She groaned, hoping that her parents had forgotten about it already. A detention for skipping class would surely have them thinking that something was wrong with her. She really didn't want her parents to fight this whole holiday like they had at Christmas.

In fact, Jane had planned for a peaceful holiday. She'd get to tell her mum about Aaron. She didn't write them and tell them that she had a boyfriend; she wanted to do it in person. That news was just too exciting to put in a letter. Her mother would be so happy for her. And she'd tell them about the Quidditch match against Hufflepuff, and her father would be so proud of her.

Jane smiled just thinking about it. She wasn't going to be bratty or bitchy this holiday. She would hold her tongue, and they would all get along, like they used to. She was going to have a good holiday. By the time the train started to move, she was actually looking forward to going home. It was going to be great.

She immersed herself in conversation with the boys. Well, she talked mostly to Peter. James, Sirius, and Remus were arguing over something about Transfiguration.

She even told him how excited she was about going home. She knew Peter wouldn't ask why her why she'd be anything _other_ than excited. That was the great thing that she loved about Peter: he didn't ask a whole bunch of questions; he just listened.

Hours later, when they stopped at Kings Cross, Jane hopped off of the train excitedly. Jane said very quick goodbyes to the boys and happily raced through the barrier. For the first time in along time, she couldn't wait to see her parents.

Jane should've known better. She should've known better than to hope for anything when it came to her family. She should've expected some sort of disappointment by now. It was like the time her mother had slept straight through her tenth birthday or when she had slept through Christmas back in Jane's first year at Hogwarts. She should've known better than to think she was going to have this fantastic holiday.

Jane had frowned when she saw only her father at the station. Her mother couldn't be having an episode. Not now. Not when she had already been planning this great holiday in her mind.

Some part of Jane was in denial. Whilst in the car with her father, she talked about her Quidditch game, never once having the courage to ask about her mum. Maybe she had been out shopping. Maybe she was cooking. Maybe there was some other reason that she didn't come to the station. Maybe, just _maybe,_ Jane could still have her perfect holiday. After all, her father had yet to bring up her latest detention.

Jane could've punched herself in the face for believing for a second that her mother wasn't having an episode. Once she walked through the threshold of the house, she could feel it. That sad energy filling up the home. It was all she could do to not scream or cry at her mother when she went into her parents' bedroom to say hello.

She didn't eat dinner with her father; she wasn't hungry. She just locked herself away in her room and fiddled with the silver bracelet on her wrist.

It wasn't fair. She was supposed to be laughing around the dinner table with her mum and dad. She was supposed to be talking about schoolwork and Quidditch and Aaron. She was supposed to be having a good time.

She wrapped her arms around herself as she lay down on her bed. She hadn't even noticed that she had started to cry.

So much for the perfect holiday.


	54. Chapter 53

**A/N****: This has nothing to do with the story, well it kinda does because I was listening to it when I wrote the ending of this chapter, but if you haven't heard ****_Quiet _****by This Will Destroy You, then I highly recommend it. I don't know. I just love it. Here's Chapter 53!**

* * *

Chapter 53:

The Easter holidays were terrible. Her mother wasn't herself again until the last couple of days. Jane decided not to tell them about Aaron. Her mother had inadvertently ruined her holiday, so why should she get to know about Aaron? However, the Easter holidays, terrible or not, couldn't have prepared Jane for what awaited her back at Hogwarts.

As she rode on the train, she couldn't wait to get back to school; she couldn't wait to see Aaron again. She couldn't wait to get back to their great little relationship. She wanted things to go back to being how they were: happy and perfect.

That wasn't what happened.

Jane had jumped off the train when it arrived at the station, eager to get up to the castle. However, when she had gotten inside, Marlene, who had stayed at school for the holidays, was waiting for her at the entrance of the Great Hall. She had this look on her face, a pitying look, that chilled Jane down to her very core.

"I need to tell you something."

Jane didn't want to hear those words. She didn't want to see Marlene's sort of sorrowful countenance. Marlene was never serious, and when she was, it usually wasn't a good thing, because she was either angry at someone or really hurt.

"What is it?" Jane asked curiously, though some part of her didn't really want to ask the question because she knew that this news was meant specifically for _her,_ and not anyone else.

Jane watched as a group of Hufflepuff third year girls walked past her and Marlene and into the Great Hall. They had been whispering in low voices until they caught sight of Jane, who was staring at them now. They immediately stopped their whispers and walked away. Jane crossed her arms in front of herself. If there was one thing she learned at her old school, it was how to tell when people were talking about her.

"What was that about?" Jane asked.

Marlene seemed reluctant to answer at first.

"Marlene?" Jane asked.

Marlene sighed.

"There've been– rumours going around. And they're all probably going to be pretty hurtful," she said carefully, trying to gauge Jane's reaction as she said this. "And one of them's true."

* * *

Somewhere between the carriages and the Great Hall, the boys had lost Jane. No one knew where she was. She had never appeared at the Gryffindor table for dinner, and she wasn't with Ashby at the Ravenclaw table. James spent most of the dinner looking around for her, hardly touching the food on his plate.

"I don't understand; she was right behind us when we got to the castle," he said.

"Maybe she went to the loo," Peter suggested.

James waved him off. He saw Marlene walk into the Great Hall. He was surprised to see that she was headed straight for where they were sitting.

"Well, hello, Marlene," Sirius had said in an arrogant voice.

Marlene didn't even roll her eyes, which is what she usually did whenever Sirius spoke to her nowadays. James just looked at her curiously, waiting for her to say something. She looked extremely uncomfortable.

"I think, maybe one of you should go find Jane and talk to her," she said seriously.

"You know where she is?" James asked.

Marlene shook her head slowly.

"She kind of took off after I told her…" Marlene's voice broke off.

"Told her what?" James asked warily.

Marlene kind of wrung her hands.

"While you guys were away for Easter, Aaron, he sort of—"

"What'd he do?" James asked in a much harder tone, his eyes narrowing.

"He, um, he hooked up with Megan Kershaw."

"You mean, you _heard_ he hooked up with her," Remus corrected.

Marlene shook her head again.

"No, I mean he _did_. He's not denying it or anything," she said.

The boys were silent. James looked back over to Ashby at the Ravenclaw table. There he was, pretending he had done absolutely nothing wrong, acting as though everything were fine. James stood up, fully prepared to go over there and punch in that stupid, smug face of his.

"Wait," Marlene said. "There's something else as well."

* * *

The boys didn't finish their dinner. They had split up to look for Jane. She wasn't in her dorm or any of the girls' lavatories (Marlene had vouched for that), she wasn't on the Quidditch pitch, she wasn't at the lake or the library or seemingly anywhere to be found. She had vanished. They tried using the map, but seeing as how it still wasn't finished, it could only tell them that she wasn't anywhere on the first three floors of the castle.

James was furious, however (and he was surprised by his own restraint) he had managed to walk out of the Great Hall without confronting Ashby. For the time being, he was much more worried about finding Jane, as she was probably very hurt at the moment.

He was with Remus, walking up to check the Owlery. Marlene's words kept playing over and over in his mind, making him angrier and angrier with every second that ticked by.

_"He's been saying that he was only with her in the first place because she put out for him."_

Once they had gotten to the Owlery to find it empty, James balled up his fist and punched at the stone wall. His knuckles busted, and blood spread over the back of his hand when he flexed his fingers. Surprisingly, it didn't hurt as much as he thought it would.

Once he found Jane, he was going straight for Ashby. He was dead. How _dare_ he? It wasn't bad enough that he had, undoubtedly, broken Jane's heart, but he had blatantly started rumours about her, rumours that people actually believed, rumours that people were probably going to act on.

_"It's been terrible," Marlene said. "People have been calling her dreadful names, saying she's a whore. I've been telling them that it's not true, but people only believe so much, and it's not usually the truth they choose to believe either."_

James felt sick. This was his fault. He _knew_ Ashby was going to hurt her somehow, but he had let it happen anyway. And now Jane was hurt and all alone somewhere, and he hadn't even done anything about it yet. Ashby was probably up in his dorm by now, happy with all of the damaged he had caused. Jane had done absolutely nothing wrong, yet she had to pay for the damage that some sadistic boy had caused. It just wasn't right.

* * *

"I really don't think she'd be in Hogsmeade," Peter said nervously as they walked through the passage way on the fourth floor. "It's all dark outside."

"We have to check everywhere, Peter. And unless she's in the forbidden forest, she's not on the school grounds," Sirius said.

"Maybe we just didn't look hard enough," Peter said.

"Do you want to check the forest? Because we can," Sirius said maliciously.

Peter shivered just thinking about the forest.

"Hogsmeade is fine," he said timidly.

Once they were there, it didn't take long to find her. On the outskirts of the town, where the shops ended and the cottages of the residents started to spread out over the rolling hills, there was a spot on the edge of the woods where Jane liked to drag them to whenever they were there. She usually liked to sit there and watch this one family in this little white, thatched cottage; Sirius guessed she liked to imagine living there someday, maybe with a family of her own. However, he usually found it pretty boring and a waste of his time.

In the dark, they could hardly make out her figure. Upon coming closer, they saw that she was crying. She had her face buried in her knees, which were clutched to her chest. Any sarcastic remark that he had been planning to say to her, and he had been planning many, had washed away at the sight of her. Sirius usually had no problem with kicking people while they were down, but if he did it now, it'd be a new low for him, and he knew it. Besides, she was more hurt than he had ever seen her before.

They didn't say anything; they just stood a few feet away and let her cry. She was aware of their presence. She didn't look up to see who it was, but she knew that only one of her friends would think to look for her here.

"Go tell James and Remus that we found her," Sirius said, and Peter walked away obediently.

Jane continued to cry for a couple minutes more before sniffling and wiping her puffy eyes. She looked up, resting her chin on her knees, but she still didn't look at Sirius.

"Go ahead," she said in a small, shaky voice. "Say 'I told you so.'"

Sirius put his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels.

"Believe me, I had been planning on it," he said truthfully, "but trust me when I say, out of all the times I've wanted to tell you that I told you so, this is not one of them."

Jane wiped her face with the back of her hand again.

"I'm so stupid," she said, a new wave of tears flowing from her eyes.

Sirius stared at her awkwardly, not really knowing what to say or do.

"It's going to be okay," he said, thinking that maybe she'd stop crying if he said that.

"No, it's not," she cried. "I feel like a complete idiot! Have you heard the things people have been saying about me? It's awful. And I can't do anything to make them not believe it."

Sirius had remembered Marlene's words clearly, and he felt a pang of anger rush through him. Who did Ashby think he was? The smug, poncy bastard. Sirius couldn't wait to get his hands on him.

"I can't believe I actually thought—" Jane choked out a very bitter, humourless laugh. "I can't believe I thought he really liked me."

She shook her head, her lip quivering.

"I'm just so stupid, to think that somebody could like me," she said, more to herself than to Sirius.

Sirius bent down beside her, resting on his haunches.

"Hey, you're not stupid, all right? So stop saying it," he said. "And I told you, it's going to be all right."

"No, it's not! Everyone thinks I'm some slag," Jane snapped at him. "I feel so used and pathetic, and you don't know what that's like. So don't tell me it's going to be okay when you have no clue."

"People will forget about it," he assured, "and Ashby's gonna get what's coming to him."

"You don't understand. Hogwarts was the place that I loved most because it was an escape; nothing bad ever happened here, not like this."

She started to cry again.

"What am I ever supposed to look forward to now? Where am I supposed to go when I don't want to go home, but I don't want to be _here_ anymore either?" she asked in a quiet voice, finally looking Sirius in the face.

The expression on her face wasn't just one of hurt, she was genuinely afraid. Afraid that Hogwarts was going to end up just like her old school. Afraid that this new life she had built for herself was going to come crashing in around her, and she couldn't do anything to stop it. They always told her whenever she was bullied at her old school that things would get better, that's all anyone ever told her; the teachers, Sarah, her parents, school counsellors, they had all told her the same thing. She had thought that they were right, that Hogwarts had been the turning point for some better life that she could only dream about before.

And now, with things being the way they were, she was afraid. What if things never _did_ get better? What if it was just a lie people told each other and themselves so that they could survive through their shithole of a life? What if things were always going to be this way? With people always being terrible to her, people always trying to hurt her.

She felt as though her heart had been cut out of her chest and trampled on. And then, she was going to have to face all these accusations of people that didn't really know what they were talking about. It wasn't fair. What had she ever done that was so terrible to deserve something like this?

For once, Sirius felt as though there was something more to Jane than what he thought he knew about her. Maybe there were things going on in her life that she hadn't told them about, or maybe she had and he hadn't paid attention. And for once, he actually felt sorry for her, felt sorry for someone other than himself.

"Janie, it's going to get better," he promised.

"How do you know that? How do you know it's not just going to get worse or just stay the way it is? How do you know it's going to get _better?_" Jane asked through sobs.

"Because I just do," he said. "Because you and James and me and Remus and Peter, we're going to make it better. I promise."

She just looked at him and nodded, needing to believe him.

"It's just not fair," she whispered.

Sirius patted her on the back.

"I know."

He was able to help her up, and she hugged him for a long time before they started walking back toward the town.

They met up with James, Remus, and Peter on the High Street. Jane and James didn't say anything to each other, he just looked at her, and she began to cry again. And James held her for a long time, telling her that it was going to be okay as she kept apologising for not listening to him, her voice muffled by his shoulder that she was crying on.


	55. Chapter 54

Chapter 54:

The next day was Saturday, and Jane was afraid to leave her dorm room. She wasn't exactly ready to be amongst all these people that believed such horrid things about her. She didn't go down to breakfast, she just lay in her bed until she had worried so much that she thought she might be sick. So for the time being, she worked on her scrapbook to take her mind off of things. Besides, it was fun for her to be able to rip Aaron from any pictures that she had taken while they were still together and set them on fire with her wand. As for the bracelet he had gotten her, it broke with ease when she wrenched it apart in her hands, much to her pleasure.

No one tried to make her leave the room; in fact, when lunch rolled around, Alice and Mary brought her up some food. They all agreed that she needed this weekend to herself. Come Monday, maybe she'd be ready to face the halls of Hogwarts with a brave face.

* * *

James had found Ashby alone outside near the Owlery.

"Thought you might be looking for me," Ashby had said, smirking that smug little smirk of his.

James had only glared at him for a moment.

"Well? I'm waiting Potter," he said, laughter in his voice as though this were all a joke to him. "Give it your best shot!"

James eyed the wand that was already in Ashby's hand.

"I want to know why you did it. Why hurt her? What had she ever done to you?" James asked, forcing himself to stay calm.

Ashby laughed coldly.

"Nothing. She's especially kind, isn't she? Maybe too much for her own good, aye?"

James clenched his teeth together, but stayed quiet.

"You know, at first, I was only nice to her because it annoyed you. But then, you became somewhat tolerant, and that was just boring to me. So I decided to take it a step further, ask her out. She just made it so painfully obvious that she liked me; it was almost cute," Ashby said.

James listened carefully, trying to keep his breathing steady.

"Plus, I figured she'd be a pretty easy shag, her being so naïve and all. But as it turns out, I was wrong. I thought that maybe she'd come around, but she never did, and I just got bored, so I figured it was about time I wrap things up with her. Do something to hurt her because it's just so entertaining when you're angry with me."

"But she didn't do anything! If you wanted to make me angry, you could've just hexed me. You never even had to go near her," James said angrily.

"I learned when we were kids that the best way to get to you was to break one of your toys," Ashby said maliciously.

James almost lost it.

"But she's not a toy, she's a _person,_ Ashby! Jane's not just something you can pick up and throw away whenever you want—"

"Maybe not to you, but everything's pretty disposable to me," Ashby corrected in a bored tone.

"She's not," James said. "And let me tell you that you're going to get everything you deserve."

"I'll never understand the need that people have to protect someone else. It alludes me as to why you care so much," Ashby said, studying James.

"That's because you're not just an arrogant prat, you're a sadistic sociopath. You don't know how to care for anyone but yourself, and you use people as entertainment for your pathetically dull life," James said.

"Are you going to try and hex me, or just bore me to death with a monologue?" Ashby asked in that same, bored tone.

A slow smile spread over James' features.

"What you–you think I'm going to _hex_ you?" James asked. "You think I'd do something so utterly _simple_ as that when you hurt someone so close to me?"

Aaron smirked.

"You must be way more stupid than I thought," James said.

"Oh, please," Ashby said. "What else do you think you could possibly do to me?"

James let out a laugh.

"You think I came here alone, don't you?" he asked. "Maybe you've mistaken the situation."

"_Expelliarmus,_" came a voice from somewhere near the two of them.

Ashby's wand flew out of his hand.

"I'm not the only person you pissed off," James informed him.

The other three boys appeared behind James. Remus was twirling Ashby's wand in his hand. Peter, though still mousy looking, had this determined expression on his face. And Sirius, whose features were graced with a dark smile, was holding a bundle of rope.

* * *

Jane was in her room, being distracted by Marlene and Mary fighting over Marlene's disappearing lipstick. Apparently, Marlene was under the impression that Mary had taken it and never given it back. Of course, Mary thoroughly denied this accusation.

"Look, all I'm saying is that it was right here before I went to lunch," Marlene said, pointing to her beside table. "And you and Alice came up here after lunch, and now, it's gone."

"I didn't take it!" Mary said for the hundredth time. "Why don't you ask Alice about it?"

"Alice doesn't _wear_ lipstick!" Marlene said.

Jane was just about to give Marlene her own lipstick when someone burst into their room. Jane looked up to see Patricia Foley, a fourth year Gryffindor that Alice hung around sometimes.

"Come down to the Quidditch pitch! I don't know who did it, but it's absolutely priceless!" she said before running off to tell anybody else she could find.

The girls all looked at each other and then ran to the window.

"Can you see anything?" Marlene asked Mary.

"No, I can only see half the pitch from here," she said. "But something's definitely happening, because people are practically running down there."

They looked to Jane. She didn't have to think twice about it. This was something very big apparently, and she wasn't about to miss out on it. And whatever it was, it was taking people's focus off of her.

The three girls ran down to the Quidditch pitch. By the time they got there, about half the school was already gathered at the far end of the pitch, staring at something. Some were pointing and laughing, others were trying to get a better look. They managed to push their way to the front of the crowd. Jane's jaw dropped as she beheld the sight.

There, tied to one of the three goalposts, was Aaron Ashby, passed out, wearing a vibrant red lipstick, and stripped naked in front of God and everyone. He had various obscenities written and drawn on him with the lipstick as well.

Jane let out a surprised laugh. The slight damage that had been done to her reputation was _nothing_ compared to the humiliation that Aaron was going to suffer when he woke up. Nobody was even going to remember her name after basically the entire school witnessed _this_. She almost felt bad for him, but then she remembered he was an ignorant arsehole that had ripped out her heart and tried to ruin her life. She had no pity for the likes of him.

Patricia Foley had said that she didn't know who'd done it, but Jane had a fairly good idea. She looked around and saw the boys standing off to the side, triumphant smiles on all of their faces. She made her way over to them, pressing through the steadily growing crowd of students.

"I told you we'd fix it," Sirius said.

Jane smiled her first actual smile since before the Easter holidays.

"_You_ did this?" Mary asked, appearing beside Jane.

"Who else would think of something this ingenious?" James said, happy with his work.

"You could get expelled for this!" Mary told them.

Jane stopped smiling abruptly, a worried look crossing her facial features.

"No, we won't," Sirius said. "He won't say anything."

"How do you know?" Jane asked.

"Because memory charms are extremely potent," Remus answered, smiling. "When he wakes up, he'll think he's done this to himself."

"That's brilliant!" Jane said.

"Yeah, and in a few months, we'll lift the charm, probably while he's taking one of his O.W.L.s, and he'll remember everything," James said happily.

Jane laughed, unable to contain the overwhelming sense of happiness inside of her. It was perfect.

"How am I supposed to repay you for this?" she asked, smiling.

Sirius draped his arm over her shoulders.

"This was absolutely free of charge, Janie," he said, grinning like an idiot.

"What a lovely sight," Alice said as she joined them, staring up at Aaron.

James pulled something out of his pocket and tossed it to Alice who caught it.

"Thanks for letting us borrow it," James said.

Jane looked down to see a lipstick tube in Alice's hand. Alice smiled.

"It was my pleasure."

Marlene scoffed and grabbed her lipstick out of Alice's hand.

"It was Marlene's pleasure too," Alice added.

Someone on the Quidditch pitch yelled the dreaded word "teacher" and everybody began to scatter. Jane ran with the boys off of the Quidditch pitch and back up to the castle, laughing so much that she could hardly catch her breath.

Maybe things did get better after all. Well, maybe not for Aaron, but for her, things were beginning to look up.


	56. Chapter 55

**A/N: This is a very short chapter (if you can even call it a chapter). It's just a little filler. More chapters are coming soon!**

* * *

Chapter 55:

People had talked about what had happened to Aaron for the rest of the school year. It was hard for anyone to keep a straight face whenever they passed him in the corridors. And while most of the focus was off of Jane now, people still whispered every now and then, and she even endured some snide, vulgar remarks from a few Slytherins, though, they would've been harsh to her even without the rumours Aaron had started. Jane learned to deal with it; after all, what had happened to Aaron was more than enough to compensate her for her own humiliation. However, it still bothered her at times, and she would go back to feeling stupid for ever letting something like that happen to her.

Near the end of the school year, Jane was unusually calm. Despite having the big Quidditch match against Ravenclaw and upcoming exams, she felt more relaxed than she ever had during this time of year. She had actually managed to find a balance between studying and just enjoying time with her friends. With all that had happened, she figured that she needed a break from being stressed about things.

For the first time in weeks, everything was back to normal, and Jane couldn't have been happier.

The Ravenclaw game was something Jane had desperately needed, and though she had been penalised for it in the end, she was happy to find that knocking Aaron off his broomstick was a lot easier than she'd thought it'd be. He had been sent to the Hospital Wing with a broken arm, and Gryffindor had ended up winning, not only the match, but the Cup as well.

The rest of the year ended up being filled with unauthorised Hogsmeade trips and exams and late night treks to the kitchens. After exams were over, and with only a week left at Hogwarts, Jane began to dread going home. Another whole summer without her friends, and she didn't even have Sarah to make Stockbridge more bearable now. Nearly three months of sitting at home wasn't something that she was looking forward to. Plus, she was still kind of mad at her mother for her ruined Easter, though, she had been thankful in the end that she had never told her parents about Aaron.

It was extremely hard for her to board the train, and even harder to get off at Kings Cross. She didn't want to have to say goodbye to all her friends, not again. But she had to, and as she watched them all leave with their parents, she was filled with a longing to be going with one of them (save for Sirius; she'd pick Stockbridge over Sirius' house any day).

She couldn't wait to be older, to no longer be living in that godforsaken town. She couldn't wait to leave. She had it all planned out. Once she graduated, she'd live in London for a while. Then, she'd fall in love with a very respectable wizard, and she'd get married. Then, they'd move to Hogsmeade and live in one of those little cottages, like that white one that she loved so much. And after a while, she'd finally have a beautiful baby boy who would later attend Hogwarts and become the next Minister of Magic (Jane had very high hopes for her future son).

Jane wasn't exactly sure why she wanted a boy when she was older. Maybe after all those times of watching that family in Hogsmeade, the idea just wore off on her. The young mother was always chasing her little boy around the yard, laughing and playing with him. Jane would love to live that kind of life, a quiet peaceful life in a little cottage with her husband and son. She was going to be such a good mother, she was certain of it.

But in the mean time, she was forced to live wherever her parents were, and unfortunately, it was Stockbridge, and there was nothing to be done about it.

She sighed before walking through the barrier to be greeted by both of her parents.


	57. Chapter 56

Chapter 56:

Jane's summer was far from pleasant. While it seemed Sarah was off having fun with the many new friends she had made at Test Valley, Jane had nothing to do but stay at home, wishing that she were somewhere else. She had no one to talk to (save for her parents), she had nowhere to go, and she had nothing to do.

All she had were her records and her school work (which she had already finished by mid July). And later, there were the letters from her friends.

Even Remus, who came from a place just as boring as Stockbridge, was having a better summer than Jane. His family had gotten a Crup, and that was more excitement than Jane was getting.

That was until James had, in one of his letters, asked Jane to say "hello" to Lily for him yet again. Jane had told him that she wouldn't, having already done this the last two summers with Lily going off in her letters about what a terrible person James was. Then, Jane had jokingly suggested that he just write to Lily himself.

This had turned out to be a big mistake. James actually _had_ written to Lily, for like a week straight. Lily was, to say the least, furious about it. She had written to Jane and asked her to get him to stop, and while that's what Jane had done (twice), James didn't cease in his letters.

By the end of the summer, Lily had written to all the friends, even Sirius (who all, in turn, had written to Jane, save Peter) and told them that if they didn't get James to stop, that she was going to send them _all_ cursed letters. And while Jane was slightly amused about the whole ordeal, she didn't want to end up going to school with with no hair or anything of the sorts. However, Jane wouldn't get him to stop until late August.

When Jane received her Hogwarts letter in early August, it didn't take long for her to receive a letter from James afterwards.

_Dear Jane,_

_I appreciate the concern you have for this matter, but you are worrying for no reason. She will come around. She may make empty threats, but she won't do anything, I'm certain of it. In other news, I received my Hogwarts letter today. My family will be going to Diagon Alley next Friday at around noon. Also, after school shopping, Sirius is staying at my house for the rest of summer. You are also welcome to join. And by that I mean, you better have your suitcase packed and ready to go when I see you._

_Sincerely,_

_James_

Jane, who hadn't been to the Potters' since Easter her second year, was really happy to be invited. However, convincing her parents was going to be a completely different thing. She had stared at the letter for a while before running down the stairs to find her mother making lunch.

"Well, you seem excited," her mother had said.

Jane smiled. It had been over three months since her mother's last episode. And though she knew it was stupid to hope because she did this every time, she couldn't help but think that maybe _this_ time, her mum was really getting better.

"I just got James' letter. We go to Diagon Alley next Friday," she said.

"As soon as you got your letter, I knew you'd be getting one from him. The Potters are nothing if not consistent," her mother said, smiling.

"Yeah, they sort of can't stand not having a plan for things," Jane said.

"That's not necessarily a bad thing."

"Yeah, but he, um, sort of invited me to come over to his place. After Diagon Alley, Sirius and I are invited to stay with them until school starts back," Jane said.

Jane's mum was silent for a moment.

"I don't know, Janie. Don't you have school work to be doing?" she asked.

"I've already finished it," Jane said. "And James and Sirius are really smart; they could go over it for me."

This was a lie. They weren't going to look over her school work; it took everything they had to actually start on their own.

"Well, wait until your dad gets home from work. Then, we can discuss this. I don't have a problem with it, but we'll just see what he has to say," was all her mum had said.

So when Jane's father got home that afternoon, Jane hesitantly brought up the topic again.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Jane."

"Why not?" Jane asked, slightly crestfallen.

Jane's mum, upon seeing the disappointment in her daughter's face, quickly spoke up.

"Oh, Patrick. What could it hurt? It's only for a couple of weeks. And the Potters are really nice people. Cassandra—"

"I have no doubt that they're nice people, Mary, but I just don't think it's very becoming of a girl Jane's age to be staying at some boy's house."

"He's not 'some boy,'" Jane stated. "He's my friend."

"Friend or not, I just don't like the idea. You're a fourteen-year-old girl, and you shouldn't be staying overnight at a boy's house."

"I know what you're implying and I'll have you know that I find it both offensive and repulsive," Jane said.

"Patrick, Janie is a good girl. She would never—"

"I still don't think it's appropriate," he said.

"Come on, Dad! James and Sirius and I are just friends! Don't you trust me?" Jane asked.

"Of course, I trust you, it's just, well, I don't know anything about these boys. I've hardly met them, and boys at that age have—"

_Please, Merlin, don't say 'urges,'_ Jane thought, staring up at the ceiling.

"—urges, and—"

"Dad!" Jane said.

"Well, it's true. I was that age once. I know what it's like."

"_Dad!_" Jane said again.

"Patrick, they're okay boys. Janie's been friends with them for years now. Can't you just let her go this once?" Jane's mum said.

"Yeah, come on, Dad. I haven't had anyone to hang out with all summer! I miss my friends," Jane begged, trying to make him feel bad for her. "And besides, James is like a brother to me. And Sirius is too in love with _himself_ to like anyone else."

"I just—"

"_Pleeease?_"

Her father sighed.

"Come on, Patrick, just let her go," her mum said.

"Fine," he said in a curt voice.

"Thank you so much!" Jane said, getting up to hug him.

"But," he started, "we're going to talk about something. I know at this age, you've got all kinds of hormones and—"

"Dad! We are _not_ about to have this talk," Jane said in a frightened tone, not really in the mood for a sex talk with her parents (nor would she ever be).

"Yes, young lady, we are. I know you think it's not important, but it is," he said.

"Yeah, but can't we just have this talk later? Like when I'm forty? Or dead?" Jane asked desperately, trying very hard to get out of this situation.

"We're talking about it right now," he said adamantly.

Jane groaned and hid her face in her hands, wishing she were dying a slow, painful death because that would be more pleasant than _this_.

* * *

After Jane was scarred for life, she wrote to James.

_Dear James,_

_I really do wish that you would leave Lily alone. Not only have I received letters from her, but from our friends as well because they all seem to think it's __my__ fault! And after being sufficiently traumatised, I finally managed to get my parents to agree to let me stay with you._

_Love,_

_Jane_

Jane read over the letter and sent it off with James' owl, which thankfully hadn't left yet.

_I really need to get my own owl,_ Jane thought before turning on her record player and trying to forget the past thirty minutes of conversation with her parents.


	58. Chapter 57

Chapter 57:

Jane couldn't wait for next Friday to come, and when it did, she was very excited. She had crammed her suitcase in the back of the car, and off they went to Diagon Alley.

James and Sirius were already there, waiting for the others to arrive. Jane smiled and walked up to them, giving them both hugs.

"It's good to see you," James said.

Jane immediately frowned at him and started hitting him with her purse.

"Ow! Ow! Jane, stop it! Ouch!"

"You. Will. Leave. Lily. Alone!" she said as she continued to beat on him.

James turned to Sirius for help, but Sirius only smiled.

"Sorry, mate. As much as it pains me, I'm with Janie on this one. Evans is way past her breaking point, and as entertaining as I find this, I prefer to stay un-hexed and curse-free," he said.

"All right! All right! I'll leave her alone!" James said, throwing his hands up in surrender.

Jane stopped hitting him.

"I mean it, James. If I get hexed because of you, you won't know what hit you. I know where you sleep. Don't think I won't hurt you," Jane said.

"All right!" he said, rubbing his arm. "What do you have in that thing? Bricks?"

"Books."

"Notice how they sound alike?" Sirius said. "They have so much in common. They're roughly the same size. They're both dreadfully boring—"

"The books I read aren't boring," Jane defended.

"I'm sorry, but _The Wizard's Guide to Magical Plants and their Uses_ sounds like a snore-fest," Sirius said.

"Mm, maybe, but at least I know which plants would kill you fastest if I were to slip them into your food," Jane said.

"She's threatened both of us already," Sirius said to James. "Un-invite her!"

"Sorry. No getting rid of me beyond this point," Jane said, grinning.

"So what were your parents so worried about that you needed to _convince_ them to let you come?" James asked as they waited for Remus and Peter to arrive.

"Ugh! That was the worst day of my life!" Jane said.

"What happened?" Sirius asked, smirking.

"Thanks to both of you being boys, I got to have the sex talk with my parents," Jane said disdainfully, as though they could help their gender.

"What?" James asked, horrified at the thought.

"Wait," Sirius said, "they thought _we_ would actually shag _you?_"

Jane rolled her eyes at him and smiled a malicious smile.

"Actually, I told them that _you_ wouldn't have the time, seeing as how you're too busy doing that with yourself," she said to Sirius.

James busted out laughing as Sirius glared at her.

"I'm gonna get you back that one," he said threateningly.

"I am terrified," Jane drawled sarcastically as Remus finally got there, later followed by Peter.

The friends walked and talked about James and his very unhealthy obsession with Lily Evans as their parents did their school shopping.

"I don't _obsess_ over her," James said.

"Mate, she threatened to hex all of us because you wouldn't leave her alone. Sounds a bit obsessive to me," Peter said.

"Oh, shut up," James said, crossing his arms.

Jane looked at Peter.

"How come _you_ never wrote me over summer? Everyone else did. In fact, you've _never_ written me," she said.

"How come _you_ don't write to _me?_" he countered.

"I don't have an owl," she answered.

"Well, my family has an owl, but I'm scared use it," Peter admitted.

"How come?" Remus asked.

"It doesn't like me very much," Peter said. "So I just use everyone else's owls."

Jane nodded. Made sense. Peter didn't usually have luck with animals. Especially ones with sharp claws. Bad things happened.

The friends walked down the crowded street, watching witches and wizards do their daily shopping, watching children run around with toy wands. It didn't take long before James and Sirius had to ruin the great time they were having.

As they passed the dark entrance to Knockturn Alley, James eyed it carefully.

"Have you ever been in there?" he asked Sirius.

"No. I don't have to. My own house is probably much worse," he answered.

"Mum, says I'm not allowed," James said.

Jane watched as James and Sirius formed equally mischievous grins on their faces.

"No," Jane said. "Absolutely not!"

"Aw, why not?" James asked.

"Because I value my life. I'm not about to go down there in the middle of all these blood purists that are into the Dark Arts! And in case you've forgotten, I'm a Muggle-born," Jane said.

"Yeah, James. I mean, with all the things that have been in the _Prophet,_ all those disappearances, maybe it's not such a good idea to wander into places where dark wizards might hang about," Remus said.

"And you just said your mum won't let you," Peter added in a small voice.

"Oh, where's your sense of adventure?" Sirius asked them.

"Sense of _adventure?_ Where's your _common_ sense?" Jane asked.

"You know what? We don't care. If you're too scared, just stay here," Sirius said as he and James started to walk towards Knockturn Alley.

Jane sighed. This was the Shrieking Shack all over again. Those two idiots were going to get themselves into big trouble. She rolled her eyes.

"Come on," she said to Remus and Peter as she followed James and Sirius down the dark alley.

"I knew you'd come around," Sirius said, draping an arm over her shoulders.

"Shut up," she said.

Normally, she would've pushed him off of her, but in a place like this, she felt a lot safer with someone's arm around her, even if that arm belonged to someone as ignorantly arrogant as Sirius Black.

"I don't like it down here," Jane said as they walked past a shop with a severed hand in its shop window.

"Yeah, we've seen it, can we go now?" asked Peter, who was sticking really close to Jane, like that would've done him any good had they actually been attacked.

"I second the motion to get the hell out of here," Remus said, looking around at everyone as though they were going to all come after him at any moment.

"All three of you need to shut up," Sirius said. "Nothing's going to happen to us. Oh!"

"What?" James asked.

"That's Lucius Malfoy. He's engaged to my cousin, Narcissa," Sirius said, pointing to a man with sleek blonde hair and a pointed face.

"What's he doing down here?" Peter asked.

"What's he doing marrying a person like Narcissa?" Sirius asked rhetorically. "There's a lot of good questions here."

Sirius retracted his arm from Jane's shoulders, and she immediately slid closer to Remus. She didn't like this place one bit, and maybe she was just being paranoid, but she could _feel_ people watching them.

"Maybe we should get out of here before he sees you," Jane whispered.

"Mm, yes, Sirius, maybe you should listen to your little friends."

A chill ran down Jane's spine when she heard the cruel, cold voice. They all turned to see a dark haired woman with heavily hooded eyes.

"Bellatrix," Sirius said curtly.

"Why am I not surprised to see you with Blood Traitors and Mudbloods?"

As she asked this, her eyes landed on Jane. James instinctively stepped in front of her, and she hid her face behind him.

"Bella, let's not make a scene," said a woman with blonde hair.

"Of course not, Cissy," Bellatrix said. "Just saying hello to our dear cousin."

Sirius made a disparaging noise before his two cousins walked away.

"Can we get out of here _now?_" Jane asked, her voice muffled by James' back, which her face was still buried in.

The five friends couldn't get out of Knockturn Alley quick enough, but that didn't save them from the wrath of Mrs. Potter who had seen them all walk out of there.

"_James Charles Potter!_"

James flinched at his mother's voice.

"What on _earth_ were you doing down there?"

"I–ah!" he said as Mrs. Potter grabbed him by his ear.

"_What_ were you thinking? _Were_ you even thinking?" she was shouting at him.

"Janie!" Jane's mother said. "What were you doing?"

Jane immediately downcast her eyes.

"Oh, no, Mary, this was _this_ one's idea, I can tell it," Mrs. Potter said, yanking on James' ear, causing him to yelp. "And this sort of thing is _not_ going to happen again. Right, James?"

"Ow! Yes! Okay!" he said.

"Good," Mrs. Potter said, relinquishing his ear.

James scowled and rubbed his ear, and Sirius was trying not to laugh. James elbowed him in the side.

Jane's mum looked unsure about the whole thing, but Mrs. Potter spoke up.

"Aren't you going to show Jane what you bought her?" she asked Jane's mum.

Jane looked up long enough to notice what her mother was holding. She almost leaped for joy.

"An owl?" Jane asked excitedly.

Jane's mum smiled and nodded.

Jane examined the beautiful bird as it slept in its cage and smiled. Her summer had finally come to a turning point.


	59. Chapter 58

Chapter 58:

Jane was glad to be back at the Potters' with her huge guest room with its queen size bed and balcony. She sat her suitcase, broom, and owl (whom she had named Asha) on the floor and fell back onto the bed, smiling and staring up at the canopy.

Upon glancing at one of the throw pillows, she grabbed it to make sure she had seen it correctly.

_J__**H**__E_

Were those _really_ her initials monogrammed onto the pillow?

"That was Mum's idea," James said from the doorway. "It's also on all your towels, and even a bathrobe, I think."

Jane laughed and put the pillow down as she sat up.

"Your mum really out does herself sometimes," Jane said.

"E?" said Sirius, picking up the pillow. "What's your middle name?"

"If you _must_ know, it's Elizabeth," she said, grabbing the pillow away from him.

"What is it with your family and dreadfully ordinary names?" he asked. "Jane. Mary. Elizabeth. They're all so _typical,_" he said.

"I happen to _like_ my name," Jane said. "Might I ask what _your_ middle name is?"

"Orion," he said.

"Sirius Orion Black?"

"The third," he added.

Jane just stared at him for a moment.

"Don't _ever_ make fun of _my_ name," she said before throwing the pillow back onto her bed.

"My name is exciting," he defended.

"Your name is _weird,_" Jane countered.

"_You're_ weird."

"Good comeback," Jane said sarcastically.

"As amusing as it is to watch my two best friends hate each other, we have more pressing matters to attend to," James said. "We only have two weeks of freedom left! What should we do?"

"I don't _hate_ him," Jane said. "I just find his ego to be annoyingly inflated."

"I, on the other hand, do hate her," Sirius said.

Jane rolled her eyes.

"Keep telling yourself that, mate," she said.

"Quidditch it is then," James said, answering his own question.

Jane smiled and grabbed her broomstick.

* * *

After their game of Quidditch, in which no one really won, because there wasn't enough of them to actually make teams, the three went back inside to wash up for dinner. Jane was brushing the knots and tangles out of her hair when Sirius burst into her room, followed by James.

They both jumped onto her bed and proceeded to lay there. Jane quickly grabbed her broomstick and started to hit them with the handle of it.

"Get off! Get off this instant! You're still all sweaty!" she yelled at them.

The boys hopped off of her bed as fast as they could, trying to dodge the Nimbus. Sirius flicked his wand, and Jane's brush flew off the dressing table and hit her in the back of the head.

Jane paused for a second, stunned, but then smiled a sadistic smile.

"_Now,_ you're going to get it," she said as she pulled her wand out.

"Run," James said, and he and Sirius both streaked out of the room and through the house.

Jane went after them.

Despite the fact that Jane was actually planning on hexing the daylights out of them, all three of them were laughing. This was just their idea of a good time, mindless horseplay.

Jane ran down the stairs and came to a stop in the den to catch her breath. She looked around and saw a copy of the _Daily Prophet_ sitting on a coffee table. She picked it up. It was a few days old, but the headline had caught her attention.

**_Dark Wizard Continues to Strike Fear_**

_With the disappearances of Wizards, Witches, and Muggles alike, the wizarding community is frightened that a new dark force is trying to take over. The magical world has not seen a dark wizard as powerful as this since Gellert Grindelwald, whose terrifying reign ended with his defeat at the hands of Ablus Dumbledore twenty-nine years ago._

_The new dark wizard is so terrifying that people have began to fear the mention of his name alone, calling him "You-Know-Who" and "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named." Some even fear that within the next few years, he will be powerful enough to take on the Ministry itself._

_His followers, who, sources report, call themselves Death Eaters, are growing at an alarming rate. These masked Witches and Wizards do You-Know-Who's bidding, helping him terrorise and kill anyone that might get in his way as he tries to rise to power._

_The Ministry of Magic, who has known about this wizard's existence for some time now, is finally rallying their forces against him in attempts to stop the chaos and pandemonium he has left in his wake. The Minister of Magic has finally spoken out on the matter at hand, declaring He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named as Undesirable Number One._

_"We at the Ministry are doing everything we can to stop You-Know-Who and these so called Death Eaters," says Minister Eugene Thornwater. "We have assembled our finest Aurors against these dark forces, and are most confident that this will be handled quickly and before anymore real damage can be done."_

_However, there are many skeptics out there who question the Ministry and its plans._

_"This should've been nixed a long time ago when people first started to disappear. I know a witch from Yorkshire that's been missing since April of last year; her family has all but given up hope," says Jeremiah Campbell from London, age 46._

_Thornwater has yet to inform the Muggle Prime Minister of the dangers, saying that he doesn't want to "cause a panic." (Story continues on page 7)_

Jane didn't turn to page seven, she just sat there and stared at the front page of the _Prophet_ and contemplated on what she had just read. She couldn't believe that things were getting this bad. At least, she didn't _want_ to believe it.

"You know, by now I shouldn't be surprised that you were distracted by a _newspaper,_" Sirius drawled from the doorway.

Jane shook her head and continued to stare down at the paper.

"What? No eye roll? No sarcastic, witty comeback? No empty threats? It's no fun when you don't retaliate!" Sirius whined.

"Yeah, you were on a roll today, what happened?" James asked.

Jane held up the paper.

"Have you read this?" she asked them.

James grabbed the paper and examined it.

"Oh, yeah. That was Tuesday's paper. A touch too morbid for me," he said.

"You're not worried?" Jane asked.

"What? About _this?_" James asked, motioning to the paper. "No way."

"Why not?"

"Well, the Ministry says they've got their best Aurors out looking for this guy. It's only a matter of time before they catch him and lock him up in Azkaban."

"You really think they'll catch him?" Jane asked.

"Of course," James assured. "Trust me, by the time we graduate Hogwarts, no one will even remember this guy's name or why they were so afraid of it."

Jane smiled, feeling a little better.

"Now, come on. Sirius and I want to play a game of Exploding Snap before dinner!"


	60. Chapter 59

Chapter 59:

As summer came to an end at the Potters', Jane forgot all about the article she had read in the _Daily Prophet,_ and she went back to her daily routines. She began to worry about the small things again, like her appearance, while the rest of the magical community was worrying about the attacks and disappearances that continued to happen all throughout Europe.

Mrs. Potter, who had overheard Jane and James talking about the article, had taken to hiding their copies of the newspaper to where the three teenagers wouldn't find them. In her opinion, they were too young to worry about such dreadful things. They deserved to be children while they still could. Though she was still only a little girl at the time, she still remembered very clearly the fear the world had when Grindelwald was at large.

So the three friends went about the rest of their summer as normal children would have, and all was well with the world in their minds.

While Jane was, once again, reluctant to leave the Potters', she was happy to be going back to Hogwarts to start her fourth year. She couldn't believe three years had already passed. Three years since she first started at Hogwarts. Three years since she met the people that were now her best friends.

Jane smiled, remembering how scared and nervous she had been when she had first met the boys.

The first of September was a bright and beautiful Sunday, the perfect day to kickstart the school year as they boarded the Hogwarts Express. As usual, Jane needed help dragging her suitcase on board. And as usual, Remus was already in a compartment with his nose stuck in a book.

"Do you ever put those down, Moony?" Sirius asked.

Jane cast a quizzical look at Sirius and then to Remus, and the compartment got really quiet.

"Did you just called him 'Moony?'" she asked curiously.

"I, um, no," Sirius spat out. "I called him _moody_. See he can get those really bad mood swings. Puberty and all that."

Jane cringed at the word "puberty" just like Sirius knew she would.

"All right, it is time to change the topic!" Jane said, not noticing as Remus hit Sirius with his book.

"Sorry," Sirius mumbled to Remus. "Slipped out."

Jane looked out the window as the train started to move. Oh, how she had missed Hogwarts, and she couldn't wait to start Quidditch again. This was the first year she was not nervous about anything, and it felt great. Maybe it was James' confidence in her, or maybe it was just Sirius' abnormally large ego rubbing off on her, but her self-esteem had definitely been boosted. It hadn't been boosted to the point of James' and Sirius' dangerously high self-esteems, but Jane was definitely feeling better about herself than she had in a long time.

"So what do you think the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher is going to be like?" James asked.

Remus shrugged.

"I don't know, but I know it's another woman," Remus said. "Her picture was in the _Prophet_ last week. Her name's Clara something."

"I hope this one knows what she's doing. Old Twiggy had absolutely no clue what she was even teaching us half the time," James said.

"And she was dreadfully ugly," Sirius remarked.

"Oh, please, it's not like you'd have a chance with a teacher if they looked good," Jane said. "Or anyone that looks good for that matter."

"No, but I sure would've paid more attention to what she was saying," Sirius said, disregarding Jane's last remark.

"Though you might have paid more attention to her, I highly doubt that would've heard a word she said," Remus said, not looking up from his book.

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"I think he means that you would've been too busy daydreaming about her rather than actually learning something," James explained.

"In other words, your brain is about as developed as an ape's," Jane said.

"Also in the news of the highly obvious, the sun came up to today," Peter continued after Jane.

They all laughed, save for Sirius who was sulking.

"What is this? National Pick-On-Sirius Day?" he asked.

"Don't be silly," Jane said. "It's a _local_ holiday, not national."

Sirius scowled at her.

"Don't be surprised that if at Quidditch practise you're sent to the Hospital Wing because of a rogue Bludger," he said.

Jane stopped laughing abruptly.

"Okay, I'm done," she said, settling back into her seat. "But I'll have you know that James would _never_ let you hurt me."

"That's right," James said, draping an arm around Jane's shoulders. "Not _too_ badly anyway."

Jane scoffed and pushed his arm off of her.

He just shrugged and pulled a large book out of his bag. Jane read the title.

_Unleashing the Inner Animal: An Advanced Transfiguration Guide_

Jane raised an eyebrow and shook her head.

_And they make fun of the books_ I _read,_ she thought.


	61. Chapter 60

Chapter 60:

As it turns out, the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, Clara Pinwall, didn't measure up to Sirius' standards any better than Twiggy Lawson did when it came to appearance. They'd have to wait until class started before they passed judgment on her teaching skills, but James was certain that anyone who stuck their wand behind their ear (i.e. Clara Pinwall) was bound to be a failure.

As usual, they all ate until they could eat no more and went up to their favourite spots in the Gryffindor common room. Well, James, Sirius, Peter, and Jane did. During the middle of the train ride, Remus had claimed he wasn't feeling well and left them. They hadn't seen him since, but Jane assumed he was in the Hospital Wing. The three boys sat around on the chairs and couch, while Jane lay on the floor, working on her scrapbook. She didn't have many pictures to add, just a few that she had taken at the Potters' that summer.

Once she was done fitting the pictures in place, she flipped through the book. She smiled at all the pictures, and she reread all the school newspaper clippings that she had kept as mementoes of her Gryffindor Quidditch games. There was even a clipping in there from when a model of the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch she had made in her art class last October had been voted best in the class. She smiled, remembering all the effort she had put into that project; it currently resided in her room back home, with its tiny players zooming around the pitch. Admittedly, she had needed the teacher's help to get the spells just right, but she was still proud all the same.

Jane went up to bed before the boys, wanting to be well rested for Monday morning. Once she was upstairs, James looked around to make sure the common room was empty, and it was (save for a fifth year boy who had fallen asleep at a table surrounded by his summer work that he had been trying to finish before classes tomorrow). James pulled out the book he had been reading on the train and flipped to somewhere near the back. He sat it on the floor, and all three of them huddled around it.

"According to the book, this is the last step we have before we're able to transform completely into our Animagus form," James said.

"Good, I'm tired of transforming into a dog-man," Sirius said.

"At least you don't have a rat tail," Peter complained.

"Can we get back to what I was saying, or are you two going to complain all day?" James asked in a bore tone.

"Actually," Sirius replied, staring at the page James had flipped to, "I would like to express my disappointment about this being _another_ potion."

Peter groaned, and James rolled his eyes.

"Guys, I need remind you that we are doing this to help Remus, not for your entertainment," James said.

"Yeah, but I don't much like the thought of drinking crushed goat liver and the– blood of a Boggart? How did anyone even _get_ that?" Peter asked, looking at the ingredients for their last potion.

"How are _we_ supposed to get it is the better question," Sirius said.

"Relax, I'm sure old Sluggy will have everything we need. He has this far," James said.

"Yeah, and last time we were in his personal stores, we almost got caught," Peter said.

"Come on, guys, we're so close," James said. "Don't tell me you're gonna back out now."

"Sirius Black doesn't back out of anything that he starts," Sirius said. "How long is this potion going to take?"

"If it goes like its supposed to? Six months."

"_Six months?_" Sirius and Peter exclaimed.

"If we start on it now, we might get done before the Easter holidays," James said, talking over them.

"And what about the Christmas holidays? Who's looking after it then?" Sirius asked.

"One of us will have to stick around," Peter offered.

"You mean me," Sirius said.

"Well, you never go home on Christmas anyway," Peter said.

"No, but I go to James', and having nothing to do for weeks but babysit a potion isn't exactly something I look forward to," Sirius said.

"We're _all_ staying," James said finally.

"And what are you and Peter supposed to tell your mums? 'Sorry, can't come home; I'm too busy trying to become an unregistered Animagus,'" Sirius said.

"Shush!" James said, looking around.

"There's no one down here," Peter pointed out.

"Still, we can't just go blurting it out," James said. "If anybody finds out, we could get into really big trouble."

"We've been working on this for almost a year, mate. I think we know how to keep this a secret by now," Sirius said.

James sighed.

"Fine, at dinner tomorrow, I'm going to go get this stuff from Slughorn's office, and we'll start that night," he said.

"What are you guys looking at?"

The boys immediately shut the book and turned to see Jane looking at them curiously.

"Nothing," they all said simultaneously.

Jane picked up her bag that she had left on the ground beside the couch, and slung it around her shoulder.

"Fine, don't tell me," she said, turning to go back up to her dorm.

James sighed in relief as Jane disappeared.

"I kind of feel bad about not telling Jane," Peter said.

"We know," Sirius said. "You've only said it every week since we found out."

"Look, I want to tell her just as much as you do, but that's up to Remus, not us," James said.

Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, poor Janie," he said sarcastically. "I think we have more important things to attend to."

"Exactly," James said. "Now, tomorrow, we're gonna need—"

"That's not what I was talking about," Sirius said.

James just looked at him.

"Well, I was just thinking that since we all kind of know what our Animagus forms are gonna be, I was gonna propose, since Remus has a cool nickname like Moony, that we invest in finding ourselves code names as well," Sirius said.

"Since when was Moony a _cool_ code name?" James asked.

"You're just jealous that you didn't think of it first," Sirius said.

"Guys, what are we gonna tell Jane when we stay at school for Christmas?" Peter asked.

James sighed and shrugged.

"I dunno; we'll have to think of something."


	62. Chapter 61

Chapter 61:

The days that followed were fairly normal, and James had been absolutely wrong about Professor Pinwall. She was one of the best Defence Against the Darks Arts teachers that they had ever had, but of course, Herbology was still Jane's favourite class; she doubted that that would ever change.

Of course, after Herbology, Art was Jane's favourite subject. When she had signed up for it during her second year, she hadn't known she would love it so much or that she'd be as good as she was at it. All throughout the previous school year, Jane would tell the boys about what good marks she was getting in her Art class. Of course, Sirius would then shoot her down by saying that none of the marks she got in there counted because it was an extracurricular. But she just consoled herself by saying that he probably couldn't carve a _ball_ out of anything, let alone make the projects that she was able to produce.

That Thursday, after her Ancient Ruins class, Jane met up with Remus, and they headed to Hogsmeade. James, Sirius, and Peter, who were all three working on their very complicated potion (not that Jane knew that), had decided to stay at the castle. After getting a couple of Butterbeers at the Three Broomsticks, Jane and Remus walked to the spot on the edge of the forest and sat down with their schoolbooks and notes.

Jane looked up at the little white cottage occasionally and smiled when she saw the little boy outside on his toy broomstick or the father when he Apparated home from work to be happily greeted by his wife and son. Jane vaguely wished that they were her own family. She imagined what it would be like to live in a magical household, with a little brother and with a mum that wasn't sick. With parents that didn't fight. Of course, she had to force herself to stop because not only did it make her feel guilty, it made her feel sad as well.

She and Remus talked, and as hard as they tried to focus on their Charms assignments, they kept getting distracted. Jane claimed it was because it was absolutely too gorgeous outside to focus on something as dull as homework.

Therefore, they gave up on trying to do anything productive and just sat in the grass, playing Exploding Snap with the deck of cards that Jane kept in her purse. However, this was short lived because Jane, who was dreadful at the game, became easily frustrated and deemed it boring.

"You're just saying that because you can't ever win," Remus said as she packed her cards back up.

"Maybe, but they're my cards, and they've done enough exploding for one day," she said.

Remus rolled his eyes, and Jane stuck her tongue out at him. They laughed at each other. Jane lay down on her back and placed her head in Remus' lap as he rested against a tree.

For a while, they were silent. Remus was thinking, and Jane was enjoying the fact that he had absentmindedly started to play with her hair. He and James both did that; she loved it. She had frowned when he stopped, but she didn't say anything.

"Did you read any of the _Daily_ _Prophet_s over summer while you were at James'?" Remus asked.

"One, but other than that, I didn't really see any more," Jane answered. "Why?"

"It's just that there have been some bad things happening lately," he said.

"Yeah, I know, but it'll get better soon," Jane said.

"How do you know?" Remus questioned, looking down at her.

She shrugged.

"James said it would, and if he's not worried, then I'm not worried."

"You think he's right?" Remus asked.

"Yeah," Jane said, "and besides, _everybody_ is looking for this guy. Someone's bound to get him."

"It's gotten so bad that people won't even say his name anymore," Remus said.

"Yeah, I know. I had to ask James what his name was. He said it used to be Riddle, but now he calls himself– well, you know," Jane said.

"You won't say it either? I thought you said you weren't scared."

Remus had a good point.

"I guess I'm a _little_ scared," Jane admitted.

"Me too," Remus said quietly.

Jane sighed.

"I don't understand how James is so brave all the time," Jane thought aloud. "I mean, he just says You-Know-Who's name like it's nothing, and even the _Daily Prophet_ won't print his name."

"Yeah, him and Sirius both," Remus added.

"I'd like to believe that James is right about this though," Jane said.

Then, her brow furrowed as she thought about something else.

"I think he's not telling me something," she said. "Sirius and Peter too. I think they're hiding something."

Remus stiffened a bit.

"Why do you think that?" he asked.

"Well, they're always whispering to each other, and sometimes they'll try and hide stuff when I walk up to them. I don't know, maybe I'm just being paranoid," Jane said.

Remus relaxed a tiny bit.

"You don't know if they're doing something, do you?" Jane asked.

"No," Remus said, almost too quickly.

Jane started to chew on the inside of her lip. Maybe they weren't hiding anything, maybe she was just letting her imagination get away from her. But she still couldn't help but feel left out, and it kind of hurt. It had been going on for quite some time now.

However, Remus started to play with her hair again, and she relaxed, forcing herself to stop worrying. After all, they were her friends; they didn't keep secrets from her.


	63. Chapter 62

**A/N****: Holy fucking shit, guys. Sorry for the language, but ****_Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_**** is coming to the big screen, and I'm currently screaming and crying, and I think my family is scared of me right now. Harry Potter! The fandom that lived! (That joke isn't mine. I read it on Tumblr. I'm not witty enough to come up with something like that.)**

* * *

Chapter 62:

As the days passed and September turned to October, Jane had, yet again, been immersed in Quidditch practise and schoolwork. She was no longer focused on the boys and their seemingly secretive ways; she had other things on her mind. There were things that made her happy, like the fact that her bra was getting too small, and she was going to have to go up a size soon. However, there were things that made her worry as well. Remus' copies of the _Daily Prophet_ seemed to bring bad news almost every week now, with headlines like _**He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named Strikes Again**_ and _**Death Eaters Terrorise Muggle Neighbourhood**_.

It seemed as though the problems with this dark wizard and his followers were getting worse, and no one had been able to capture him yet. Some part of Jane began to doubt that they ever would catch him, but the other part still ignorantly placed faith in what James had said over summer. She just wanted to believe that it was going to get better.

However, even James and Sirius themselves began to secretly doubt the Auror Office after days of terrible news. Of course, they never said anything, and they surely didn't call Voldemort "You-Know-Who;" they thought it was ridiculous the way people acted as though the silly name itself could cause destruction. It irked them that their own friends were among the very people too scared to say Voldemort's name.

"What do you think's going to happen?" Sirius had asked Jane as they got ready for Quidditch practise. "Do you think he's gonna pop out from behind a shrub?"

"Of course I don't," Jane said, lacing up her Quidditch boot, not really comfortable with the topic of conversation.

"Then why don't you just say his name?" he pressed.

"Because I don't _want_ to," she said.

"Just say it."

"No."

"Leave her alone, Sirius," James said.

Sirius rolled his eyes.

"It gets on your nerves too; don't act like it doesn't," he said to James.

"Yeah, but listening to you two bicker is gonna get on my nerves even more," James said as he strapped on a Quidditch glove.

"Yeah, go bug Remus or Peter about it," Jane said, giving Sirius a little shove as she walked past him to get her broomstick.

He lightly swung his Beater's bat at her, and it made contact with her elbow. A kind of shock was sent up her arm.

"Ow!" she said, grabbing her arm. "That was my funny bone you arse!"

Sirius just laughed.

"Have I told you I hate you lately?"

"Mmm, not today," Sirius said.

"Well, I do," she said, still clutching her arm.

"Well, that's nothing new," said Jarod Harris said as he walked into the locker room.

Jane smiled and shook her head as the rest of the team walked in. The team had virtually not changed from last year, seeing as how no one on first string had graduated; the only real changes had been made on second string.

"And she should. He's intolerable at the best of times," Brenton teased.

"That's not what your girlfriend says," Sirius retorted.

"Really funny," Brenton said sarcastically.

"I wasn't joking," Sirius mumbled under his breath with a smirk on his face.

Luckily, Brenton hadn't heard, and Candice went on to talk about their strategy for the upcoming Slytherin game.

Jane couldn't wait for the first Quidditch match. It had only been a month, but Avery and his little gang of friends had already managed to severely piss her off, trying to dredge up the old rumours that Aaron had started the prior term. She couldn't wait to have a reason to do some kind of damage to Avery. Besides, she had never got to personally repay him for her broken ankle.

"Okay, so first thing's first, Slytherin has a new Keeper," Candice said. "Now, I've heard he's a lot better than Nott, but I haven't actually seen him play for myself. Of course, we're not about to go into a game with Slytherin _assuming_ that their Keeper is just 'okay'

"Gryffindor's won the Quidditch cup for five years straight now. I'm really hoping to make it six, especially since this is my last year."

There was a collective sigh from the team. They were going to miss her.

"Okay, so I want our Chasers to be on top game."

"The J-Team is _always_ on top game," James said, slapping Jane and Jarod on their backs; the three Chasers had taken to calling themselves that last year because every one of their names started with a J.

"I mean," Candice continued "I don't ever want just one person taking the Quaffle up the pitch. I want all three of you in-sync with each other. All of you need to come at him at once."

"But only one Chaser's allowed in the scoring area at a time," Jane said.

"Yeah," Jarod continued for her, "we'd be called out for Stooging before we ever shot the ball."

"Will anybody let me finish?" Candice asked, started to get annoyed with the three Chasers. "I want all of you going down the field at once. Constantly crossing over, constantly passing the ball until that very last moment where one of you has to enter the scoring area. Hopefully, that'll throw him off his game a bit."

Candice talked for a while more before they finally started practise. By the end of practise the "J-Team" was dead. They had had the worst practise out of anyone. Candice had kept yelling at them, telling them do redo things over and over. Jane was happy when practise was over.

"Since when did Candice turn into a female version of you, James?" Jane had asked as they walked up to the common room.

"Oh, come on. I'm not _that_ hard on anyone," he replied as Sirius opened the portrait hole.

"Please, mate, if you were captain, you'd be ten times worse than Candice was today," Sirius said.

Jane climbed through the portrait hole and fell onto the couch. Something crinkled underneath her, and she lifted herself up to pull out a copy of the _Daily Prophet_. She looked at the page it was turned to and noticed a section entitled: _**List of Known Missing or Dead**_

She read down the list. It seemed to go one forever. Halfway through, she tossed the paper aside, and a pit formed in her stomach. That was only a list of _known_ missing or dead. How could life at Hogwarts seem so normal, with Quidditch and schoolwork and friends, when the world outside was facing something so terrifying?


	64. Chapter 63

Chapter 63:

When November rolled around, the fluctuation in weather almost cost them the Slytherin match. It had been nothing but thunderstorms for days, and on the Saturday of the game, it was as bad as ever.

The pounding rain had made it hard for them to see where everyone was, so passes were dropped and intercepted; Bludgers were hit at the wrong people; shots were missed. And at one point, Jane had almost fallen off of her broom when she was startled by a particularly loud crack of thunder.

However, the weather affected the Slytherin team as well, and in the end, it came down to Brenton and Regulus. Jane hadn't known how he'd done it, but Brenton had managed to snatch the Snitch, winning Gryffindor the game.

Jane was happy when she could finally get into some warm, dry clothes and settle down in front of the fireplace with some Butterbeer and a book.

"You are aware that a party is happening just outside of that book of yours, right?" James had asked.

"Actually, yes. It's pretty hard to ignore; I can hardly get through a paragraph. Reading in the midst of a Gryffindor victory party was perhaps not my smartest decision," Jane said, though she still tried to read.

"Reading in general is a stupid decision," Sirius butted in as he sat beside her.

"This happens to be a great book," Jane said, but she closed it. "You just have bad taste."

"I have impeccable taste, and– _The Picture of Dorian Gray,_ sounds boring," he replied, reading the title.

"Actually, I think you'd like this book. It's got everything. Sex, drugs—"

"Rock and Roll?" Sirius asked with a smirk.

"No," she said, grinning, "however, eternal youth might be of interest to you as well. You and Dorian are very much alike."

"Hm, is that right?" he said.

"Both fairly handsome, both always chasing after women, both have a proclivity for rule-breaking," Jane said.

"So you admit that I'm handsome?" Sirius said, smirking.

Jane rolled her eyes.

"Both are narcissistic arseholes who care only about their looks," she added.

"This Dorian sounds like someone I could get along with. What about you, James?"

However, James had left as soon as Lily had walked past them. He was currently trying, and failing miserably, to hold a conversation with her.

"How much do you want to bet that this ends with Lily's Butterbeer in his face?" Sirius asked.

"Two Sickles says she just walks away all flustered," Jane said.

"Four Sickles say you're both wrong," Remus said, walking up to them.

"What's she gonna do then?" Sirius asked.

"Well, this is the fifth time this week that he's talked to her, so this is going to end with a slap to the face," Remus said.

"While I find it weird that you keep up with how many times James talks to Evans, I think you're wrong. I maintain the Butterbeer theory," Sirius said.

"I still say she walks away," Jane said. "You're both on. Four Sickles it is."

They all watched intently, each wishing for their own theory to be proven. The success of one of them lay in the hands of Lily rejecting James, therefore one of them was getting paid.

"Come on, Lily, walk away," Jane whispered under her breath. "Roll your eyes and walk away."

However, the sound of someone being smacked filled the common room, and Remus grinned.

"You both owe me four Sickles each. I expect it tomorrow morning," he said, still smiling as he walked away.

Jane and Sirius both sighed.

"Can I borrow four Sickles?" Sirius asked, and Jane rolled her eyes as James walked back up to them.

"I think she's warming up to me."

"What makes you say that, mate?" Sirius asked.

"She touched me," he said.

"You're delusional," Jane said, sipping on her Butterbeer.

"Maybe, but at least I'm not the one who brought a book to a party," he pointed out.

"Fair point," Jane said, thinking that the idea, admittedly, sounded a little lame. "But still, maybe next time you talk to her, don't do it while drinking Firewhiskey."

"I fail to see what that has to do with anything," James said, pulling his cup protectively towards him.

"Yeah, Evans would've rejected him anyways," Sirius said.

James scowled at him. Jane smiled.

"At the rate you two are going, you're gonna need new livers by the time we're in seventh year," she said.

"And at the rate _you're_ going, you'll have already killed James and I with boredom before our livers have the chance to go bad," Sirius teased.

"Excuse me for having morals," Jane said.

"You don't have morals," James said, "you puked them all up in second year after you and Remus downed a bottle of Firewhiskey by yourselves."

"Yeah, the only reason you don't drink is because you had a bad experience," Sirius said.

"Keep in mind that I would've never drank in the first place if you hadn't pressured me into it," she said to Sirius accusingly.

"Me? Why I would _never_ do something like that," he said, feigning innocence.

"Right, and Lily doesn't really hate James," Jane said sarcastically.

"She doesn't," James said.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, mate" Sirius said, clapping him on the back.


	65. Chapter 64

Chapter 64:

"What do you mean, 'you're staying at Hogwarts?'" Jane asked.

Another month had passed, and James, Sirius, and Peter had just signed up to stay at Hogwarts for the Christmas holidays.

"Mum and Dad are going out of the country," James lied.

"And they're not making you come with them?" she asked.

"Nope."

"I find that hard to believe," she said, but she rounded on Peter. "And you?"

"I-I just wanted to stay," he said.

"But you love Christmas holidays," Jane said. "You talk about it all the time!"

"We can't stay at Hogwarts for one holiday without an interrogation?" Sirius asked, his eyebrow raised.

"But– who am I supposed to ride the train with?"

"What am I? Chopped liver?" Remus asked, throwing his hands up.

"Of course not; it's just become a kind of tradition, hasn't it? It's gonna be weird riding the train without all of you," she said.

"You could stay too," Peter suggested, and Sirius elbowed him in the gut.

Jane, who was still looking at Remus, didn't see this.

"No, my parents are gonna make me come home," Jane sighed. "Besides, I'm kind of looking forward to Christmas at home this year."

After all, her mother hadn't had an episode all summer, and Jane had received a letter from her just yesterday.

"Well, that's not our problem," Sirius said.

Jane had rolled her eyes, letting the subject go as they all ate lunch. But she couldn't help but feel that familiar sensation of not being told something, of being left out. So she left lunch early and made her way to Hogsmeade by herself. It was Tuesday, and she didn't have anymore classes for the afternoon. The boys had Muggle Studies, so she'd have at least an hour before they came looking for her.

She sat at her favourite spot on the edge of the woods, the little white cottage in her view as she snacked on chocolate frogs and worked on her Defence homework. The mother and son weren't outside today, and considering how cold it was, Jane didn't blame them. Jane had to keep pulling her cloak closer to her, but she really didn't want to go to the Three Broomsticks by herself, and the Gryffindor common room got boring after a while.

So Jane stayed put, occasionally looking up from her work to imagine how warm and cozy it was on the inside of the cottage. She could just imagine the young mother sitting in front of a fireplace with her little boy and reading him stories.

Jane smiled. That's what her mother did when she was little. She'd bake a Christmas cake and read her Christmas stories. And while Jane was too big to sit in her mum's lap and too old for Christmas stories, she would like to help her mum make a Christmas cake this year (even if she didn't eat it).

Jane vaguely wondered if the family in the white cottage knew anybody that had gone missing or died. Then, she wondered how she would feel if someone _she_ knew had gone missing or died. She shuddered at the idea. The thought of her friends and family being taken from her was horrifying, so she forced herself to focus on her Defence homework.

* * *

A week later, she boarded the Hogwarts Express with a surprisingly optimistic outlook despite the Easter fiasco that had happened the prior term. After all, she kept reminding herself, her mum hadn't had an episode all summer.

The train ride was kind of peaceful with just her and Remus. They talked and laughed about senseless things, neither one of them mentioning Remus' copy of the _Daily Prophet_ he had received that morning, though it was in the back of both their minds. It was the Christmas holidays; they didn't care to think about how messed up and cruel the world was at the moment.

After the train had finally stopped, and the two friends said their goodbyes, Jane stood at the barrier, thinking to herself.

_Don't expect her_ _to be here. If you expect her to be here, and she's not, then you're just setting yourself up for disappointment,_ a part of her thought.

_But it would be really nice to_ _walk through the barrier and see her,_ the other part of her thought.

Jane stood there for a while, trying to talk down her expectations. After all, the times in which she had expectations were the times that nothing went as planned. Finally, she took a deep breath and walked through the barrier.

At first glance, Jane was disappointed because she did not see her parents. However, when she pushed through a crowd of people she smiled when she saw both of them.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at Hogwarts, James, Sirius, and Peter were trying to fan away the black smoke that had risen from their cauldron in the abandoned girls' lavatory on the first floor.

"You idiot! Look at what you did!" Sirius said to Peter.

"What? I did what James said!" Peter replied.

"Well, the book says it's supposed to turn a pale blue. Does that look pale blue to you?" Sirius asked, pointing to the dark green potion.

"I did what James told me. I put the Moonseed in, and—"

"Moon_stone!_" James said. "I said Moon_stone!_ Not Moon_seed!_ We don't put the Moonseed in yet!"

"How long is this going to take us to fix?" Sirius asked.

James thumbed through the pages of the book.

"A week, give or take a few days," he said.

"Good going, Wormy! At this rate, we'll be staying at school for Easter too!" Sirius complained.

"No! No more mistakes!" James said. "I'll end up killing one of you if I have to work on this potion over Easter as well. Now, someone, hand me a Bezoar."

* * *

Back at the Hensworth household, things were going much better. Jane hadn't received any detentions so far, so her parents weren't mad at her. Her mum seemed happy. Her parents weren't fighting. And so Jane was content with letting herself believe that everything was perfect.

However, perfection, as it is known to all men, does not exist in this imperfect world.


	66. Chapter 65

Chapter 65:

For a little while, everything was great. Jane helped her mum and dad decorate the Christmas tree; she got to help her mum bake that Christmas cake. She even sat with her mum in front of the fireplace, drank hot cocoa, and watched Christmas specials on the telly. However, this idyllic lifestyle didn't last throughout the holidays.

There are certain warnings signs that precede the onset of an episode, and by now, Jane was pretty good at recognising them in her mother. Her mum would become very tired. She would withdraw into herself and stop talking as much. She would stop doing simple chores around the house. And, eventually, she would lock herself away in her room to not be seen or heard from for days as the episode took its course.

Jane watched grudgingly as her mother slowly deteriorated, step by step, sinking slowly into the confines of her own mind. And Jane grew angrier and angrier with each passing day, until finally, she snapped.

They were sitting around the dinner table, but of course no one was talking. No one was talking because when her mum was slipping into one of her episodes, she didn't like conversation. She always claimed to have a headache or not feel well or have some other reason to throw everyone around her into silence. However, the scraping of forks and knives against dinner plates being the only sound didn't sit well with Jane, not this time.

Jane put her utensils down and wiped her mouth with her napkin before saying something.

"Don't do this," she said seemingly out of nowhere.

Her parents looked up at her, and Jane's eyes bore into her mother's.

"_Don't_ ruin my Christmas," she said in a voice that was a mix between harsh and pleading. "Can't I just have one holiday that isn't ruined by unnecessary screaming or forced silence?" Her voice was getting progressively louder. "Why can't we be a normal family for one goddamn moment?"

"Jane Elizabeth Hensworth!" her father roared. "How dare you use that language?"

"Heaven forbid I use foul language!" Jane screamed sarcastically, standing from her seat. "Because that's so much worse than sitting around the dinner table and not saying anything at all!"

Jane's mum squeezed her eyes shut and put her hands to her temples.

"Can both of you stop screaming? I have—"

"A headache!" Jane finished. "Yes, we know. You always have a headache or don't feel well. You always have _something_ wrong with you. _Why_ don't you just go see a doctor?"

Jane's mother stared at her in shock.

"God forbid someone make you feel better, right? Because I'm beginning to think that you actually _like_ being the way that you are," Jane said.

"Jane– go to your room!" her father managed to choke out in an angered voice; he had never been this mad before.

"You," Jane said, pointing to her father, "are a pushover and a hypocrite, and _you,_" Jane pointed to her mum, "I don't really know what you are right now, but you're not being a mother."

Jane pushed away from the table, causing the things on it to rattle, and she ran up to her room, slamming the door behind her. And then ensued the screaming fest downstairs.

It didn't take long before her father came up to yell at her, but yelling at her was really the worst he could do. It wasn't like grounding her was really an option; she had nothing in Stockbridge to be grounded from. And if he tried to ground her from her friends at school, she'd probably just laugh in his face because it wasn't like she'd follow _those_ rules.

Jane had yelled right back at her father, once again, calling him a pushover and a hypocrite. She honestly didn't care anymore. She was tired of everything. She was done with trying to pretend that everything, one day, would be okay and that they'd all be as happy as the Hogsmeade family that she so longed to be a part of.

From now on, Jane was just going to bide her time until she finally got out of that house. She couldn't wait to finally graduate and move away and start her own life. One day, she'd come back with her husband and son and show them what a _normal_ family is supposed to look like, how a _normal_ mother is supposed to act.

But until then, Jane was stuck in that house with a family that would never be perfect or even normal. Was she aware that her mother was sick? Yes. She was also aware that her mum refusing any and all help was not only extremely selfish, but potentially dangerous as well. Why her mother couldn't see that was beyond Jane.

And the next day, Jane wasn't surprised in the least to find that her mother had confined herself to her room. And so for the remainder of the Christmas holidays, not really wanting to talk to her father, Jane did the same. So long as her mother locked herself away, Jane would too.


	67. Chapter 66

Chapter 66:

"I'm not coming home for Easter," Jane said as she and her father walked up to the platform barrier at Kings Cross.

"Yes, you are," he said.

"No, I'm really not," she said. "And I'm not going to stand here and humour you by letting you believe you have any control over that."

"Now, you listen here, young lady—"

"No," Jane said, laughing in exasperation, "I'm tired of listening to you. You're such a hypocrite. You yell at me for saying all the things to mum that you're too scared to say half the time. If she's not getting help, then I'm not coming home unless I have to.

"I absolutely hate coming home just to have her be like that. And you know, I won't go to a friends house if that's what you want, but I'm not coming home, because honestly, staying at school with no one to talk to would be a hell of a lot more fun than going home to just have my holiday ruined."

Jane didn't let her dad reply, she walked through the barrier and boarded the train. He'd send her a letter later, probably attempting to reprimand her, but she had meant what she said. He was a hypocrite, and she was tired of going home on the holidays just to wish she were back at Hogwarts.

"Good holidays?" Remus asked as she walked into the compartment.

"I can demonstrate for you how great they were by putting my head through the glass window," Jane suggested bitterly.

"That bad? What happened?" Remus asked.

Jane looked at the concerned expression on his face and sighed.

"I'd rather not talk about it, if you don't mind," she said.

Remus, being the passive person that he was, let the subject go, and the two friends busied themselves with other things such as Exploding Snap and reading (seeing as how no one was there to tease them for the latter).

When they got to Hogwarts, James, Sirius, and Peter all three seemed ready to kill each other. Jane watched in silence as they snapped at each other over dinner about trivial things.

"You three seemed to have had a charming holiday," Jane said as Sirius glared at Peter from across the table.

"It would've been a lot better if Peter's brain wasn't the size of a peanut," Sirius mumbled.

Peter and Sirius started to argue. James looked as though he were about to start banging his head on the table. Remus was actively ignoring them. And Jane was torn between confusion, amusement, and annoyance.

"You all right there, James?" Jane asked.

He looked at her with a dead expression.

"I want to cut out both of their tongues and feed them to dragons," James said. "They've been arguing nonstop all holiday. I'm amazed I haven't strangled them yet."

"I think _everyone's_ amazed at the length of time they can spend around Sirius without strangling him," Jane teased.

"I resent that!" Sirius said. "I'm a most pleasant person to be around!"

Peter made a disparaging noise, and Sirius scowled.

"So help me god, if you make another sound, I'll shove my fist down your throat," he said, causing Peter to cower away.

"Yes, you're _very_ pleasant," Jane said sarcastically.

"You know, I'm not really in the mood for you or your sarcastic attitude," Sirius snapped, and Jane was taken aback by his tone; after all, she hadn't done anything to him; he was the one in a pissy mood.

"Well, luckily for you, me and my sarcastic attitude are leaving," Jane said, getting up from the table.

"Oh, don't go, Jane," James said.

"No, I'm not gonna sit here and have him snap at me. If I wanted to argue with someone, I would've stayed at home," Jane said, not really caring that she had inadvertently told them something about home.

"You're overreacting," Sirius said.

"I know I am, and I don't care," Jane said.

"Are you on the rag or something?" he asked.

"No, I'm just not overly fond of being snapped at by someone I haven't seen in weeks," Jane said as she walked away.

"Look at what you did," Jane heard James say to Sirius.

She rolled her eyes and continued to exit the Great Hall. Yes, she was overreacting, but she had good reason. A) she was still a little on edge about her own holidays; B) despite trying to convince herself otherwise, she still had a nagging feeling that the boys were hiding something from her; C) Sirius _had_ sort of snapped at her for no good reason, and D) despite having just told Sirius otherwise, she _was_ on her period. Therefore, it would follow, that she _might_ overreact to something.

Jane walked up to the girls' dormitories and lay on her bed, staring up at the canopy. She squinted at a scratch in the wood that she hadn't noticed before. Curious, she got up, standing on the footboard, keeping herself balanced with on of the bed posts.

Jane traced her fingers over the the markings that were carved into the wood.

_A. T. Alix was here - 1927_

Jane smiled as she continued to trace her fingers over the groves. She tried to imagine what Hogwarts was like in the 1920s and who this A. T. Alix girl was.

Jane stared at the blank wood underneath Alix's name and got an idea. She pulled her wand from her robe pocket and started to carve into the wood, orange sparks coming from her wand tip.

After she was done, Jane blew lightly on it, wood shavings falling to the ground. Then, she brushed over it with her fingers and smiled.

_J. E. Hensworth - 1975_

Maybe one day, years from now, some fourth year Gryffindor girl would notice the carvings on her bed and wonder what Hogwarts was like in the 1970s and wonder who J. E. Hensworth was.

Jane stepped down from the footboard and lay back on her bed again, looking up at the carvings on the woodwork. She wondered if the A. T. Alix girl was anything like her. Did she worry about the same things Jane worried about now? Did she have problems in her family, and if so, did she look at other families and wish she were their daughter instead? And did she feel guilty about it?

All these questions ran through her head, and finally, she rolled over and closed her eyes.


	68. Chapter 67

Chapter 67:

A couple of weeks had passed, and Jane fell back into her daily routines: Quidditch practise, schoolwork, and Hogsmeade. And everything was normal, and everything was safe.

The boys were still working on their potion and were growing more and more tired of each other by the day. But everything was normal, and everything was safe.

And during those two weeks, Remus' copies of the _Daily Prophet_ brought horrible news day after day. However, at Hogwarts, everything was normal, and everything was safe.

But on the night of January the seventeenth, the students of Hogwarts experienced their first glimpse into reality when the school was finally affected by something that happened in the outside world. Jane would never forget how terrified she had been.

"Wake up! All of you! Wake up!"

Jane and her dorm mates awoke from their peaceful slumbers and groggily rose from their beds one by one. Jane squinted through the dark to see Professor McGonagall clad in a flannel nightgown, trying to usher them out of their rooms.

"What's going on, Professor?" Alice asked.

"There's no time to explain. Follow your Prefects down to the Great Hall. Quickly now," McGonagall said, shooing them through the doorway.

Jane watched as Alice grabbed her wand from her bedside table and slipped it up the long sleeve of her nightshirt. Jane followed suit. Better safe than sorry.

When they got down to the common room, Jane spotted the boys and immediately appeared at James' side.

"What's happening?" she asked him.

He rubbed his sleepy eyes before putting on his glasses.

"I dunno," he said. "It's gotta be something serious though."

They walked with their fellow housemates down to the Great Hall where students from all four houses were gathered in little groups, looking tired and somewhat scared.

Jane caught a Ravenclaw girl that they sat near in Defence by the arm as she walked past them in a hurry.

"Lennox, do you know what's happening?" Jane asked.

"There's Death Eaters in Hogsmeade. A whole lot of them," Lennox said in a frightened tone.

"Are you sure?" Remus asked.

Lennox nodded.

"That's what Michael Burbage told us," she said.

Jane let go of Lennox's arm. Michael Burbage was a seventh year Ravenclaw; he was also Head Boy. If one of the students were to know what was going on, it was him.

Jane exhaled sharply. Death Eaters? In Hogsmeade? That had never happened before. And it was extremely too close.

"What do you think they're doing in Hogsmeade?" Peter asked.

"I dunno. But they've got to be doing some kind of damage, otherwise they wouldn't have brought us here," Sirius said.

Jane let her wand slip out of her sleeve and into her hand. She was frightened. What if they tried to get into Hogwarts?

When all the students and staff had finally arrived in the Great Hall, Jane, along with everyone else, looked to Dumbledore for answers.

"I am afraid that for your safety, you will need to sleep in here for the remainder of the night," Dumbledore said, offering them no further explanation.

With a wave of his wand, the tables stood themselves up against the walls of the Great Hall, making the enormous room seem even larger as it cleared up space.

"I will ask the staff to please follow me. Prefects will stand guard at the entrances, and I'm leaving the Head Boy and Girl in charge."

With a blink of Jane's eye, hundreds of squashy, purple sleeping bags covered the floor.

Dumbledore and the rest of the Hogwarts staff left the Great Hall. The Prefects closed the entrance and secured it.

Jane and the four boys grabbed their sleeping bags and dragged them to the far corner of the Great Hall, laying them in a starburst pattern with their heads all at the centre.

"You don't think they'd try and get into the castle, do you?" Remus asked.

"What would Death Eaters want with a whole bunch of students?" Sirius asked.

"What do they want with a whole bunch of townspeople?" James pointed out. "It's what they do. They _like_ to torture people."

"You think that's what they're doing down there? In Hogsmeade? Torturing people?" Jane asked in a quiet voice.

James sighed.

"Let's hope that torturing's the _only_ thing they're doing," he said darkly.

Jane's breathing became unsteady.

"You think they're killing people?" she asked in a shaky voice.

James didn't say anything; he only looked at her.

A lump formed in Jane's throat, and tears threatened to fall from her eyes. Just a few miles from where she was right now, real people were being tortured, some of them even killed.

"But they can't get in the castle, right?" Peter asked in a squeaky voice. "It's pretty secure, right? I mean, Hogwarts is the safest place in the world."

Jane's mind drifted to the passageways that led from Hogsmeade to Hogwarts. Surely, Dumbledore knew about those?

"They couldn't come through a secret passageway, could they?" Remus asked, obviously thinking exactly what Jane was.

"No, I'm sure Dumbledore knows about those," James said. "At least I _hope_ he does," he said as an afterthought, not entirely sure how many people knew about the passages.

Jane's lip began to quiver a bit.

"I'm scared," she said in a small voice.

"Me too," Remus admitted.

James looked around at them and sighed.

"We're all scared," he said.


	69. Chapter 68

Chapter 68:

Jane didn't get any sleep that night. She lay awake in her sleeping bag, clutching her wand, and staring up at the ceiling of the Great Hall. She watched as the bewitched ceiling turned slowly from a starry night into a cloudy morning sky.

Jane was the first one to get up; she was rolling up her sleeping bag when Dumbledore came in the Great Hall to wake everybody up.

"As some of you, no doubt, already know, Death Eaters attacked the village of Hogsmeade last night," Dumbledore said.

Jane closed her eyes to stop tears from forming, and whispers broke out throughout the hall. Sure, everyone had heard by now, but they were all hoping that it wasn't true.

"As a result, extra security measures have been put into affect, and Hogsmeade trips are, henceforth, suspended," Dumbledore said, talking over the students.

Dumbledore talked for a while longer, but Jane, who was still clutching her wand, stopped listening. She just stared blankly ahead.

Death Eaters. In Hogsmeade. The whole thing seemed slightly dreamlike, or rather more like a nightmare.

Everyone in the Great Hall rolled up their sleeping bags, which started to disappear one by one, and the tables made their ways back to their respective places.

Jane sat at the table, still too scared to really do something such as eat breakfast. She both dreaded and eagerly anticipated the coming of Remus' _Daily Prophet_. Some part of her wanted to forget this whole thing ever happened, and the other part wanted the whole story.

When it finally arrive, Jane almost didn't want Remus to unfold it. But he did, and Jane's eyes landed on a headline that she never wanted to read.

**_Hogsmeade Massacre: Countless Lives Lost_**

Underneath was a picture of the High Street. The place looked as though someone had set off a bomb. The Three Broomsticks had all its windows smashed in. Honeyduke's was missing a huge portion of its rooftop and front wall. Zonko's was still smouldering as though someone had attempted to burn the place to the ground.

Jane decided to not read the article after all, and she sat in silence as the boys stared intently at it. She had known the world was getting worse. She had been scared before, but in the end, there had always been that barrier of youth that separated her from the real world. However, last night, the feeling of invincibility that comes with being young, the feeling that nothing bad was _really_ going to happen to her, had been thrown out the window, and she was truly frightened.

Those Death Eaters could have easily tried to attack Hogwarts instead. Hogwarts, the place where nothing bad ever happened. It was as though someone had taken her safety blanket and punched holes in it, and she had a feeling that things were only going to get worse from here on out.

The horrible headline ran through her mind over an over.

_**Hogsmeade Massacre: Countless Lives Lost**_

All those people. All those normal people just going about their own business just to have their lives taken from them. All those families destroyed and broken. All those families…

_Family_.

The word hit Jane like a train going full speed. Her heart raced as a terrible realisation struck, and she stood from her seat, swaying a little from the lack of sleep.

"Jane?" Remus asked, but she took off.

Jane ran out of the Great Hall, up countless stairs, through a maze of corridors. She stopped when she saw a teacher walking down the corridor with the big mirror. The boys caught up with her.

"What are you doing?" James asked.

Jane didn't answer, she only waited for the teacher to leave, and then, she darted straight towards the mirror.

Jane ran as fast as she could down the dark passageway and climbed up through the trap door, only vaguely aware that she was still in her night clothes and had no shoes on.

Jane emerged from the narrow alleyway between Scrivenshaft's and Dervish and Banges followed closely by the boys. She looked around the High Street in silence. Seeing it in the paper was one thing, but seeing it in person was completely different. Her heart dropped to her stomach.

Jane pushed her way through the crowds of people trying to help fix the shops and buildings and ran and ran and ran. The boys chased after her, immediately understanding why Jane, the girl too afraid to get within ten feet of Knockturn Alley, had stormed straight into Hogsmeade only hours after it had been attacked.

When they caught up with her, she was standing in front of the little white cottage, however, it wasn't much of a cottage anymore with a big portion of its right half blown off. Wordlessly, she walked up to the door which looked as though it had been kicked in. Carefully, she stepped inside what was still standing of the structure.

The boys didn't follow her this time; she would have just ignored their presence anyhow.

She walked through the torn apart little cottage, wading through rubble and furniture, picking up broken picture frames that held photographs of the family that she had watched for so long.

She came to a room with a child's bed in it, and carved upon the broken headboard in elegant letters was the name Lucas. She ran her hand along the letters and didn't even flinched when a tiny splint of wood stuck in her finger.

Jane sat on the tiny bed and began to cry. She felt as though a gaping hole had been punched through her chest. This wasn't just any family to her. She may have not known them personally, but she had grown to love them in a way. They were the family that she longed to be a part of for so long now. They were the family that she herself had dreamed of having one day. And now they were gone, and she felt as though a little piece of herself had left with them.

The boys waited outside, and minutes later, Jane emerged from the cottage holding a broken toy broomstick.

There was a click and a flash that startled the boys, but Jane seemed unfazed by it.

"That's a great shot," the man with the camera was saying. "could you turn this way a bit, dear?"

Sirius picked up a piece of rubble from the ground and threw it at the man.

"Go on!" he yelled in a hostile voice at the man.

The man snapped another quick photo of the ruins of the cottage before leaving.

James walked up to Jane who hadn't moved from the doorway of the cottage.

"Jane?" he asked in a tentative voice.

Jane looked up at him with tears in her eyes.

"You said– you said that they would catch him," Jane choked in a constricted voice. "You said that everything was going to be okay."

"I know," he said. "I'm sorry."

Jane allowed herself to be wrapped in a hug, and she started to cry again. She hadn't been blaming James. She was just frightened and hurt. She felt as though everything she had associated with that family, things like love and warmth and happiness, had been stripped away from her. And she was further frightened by the prospect of things getting worse.

They could all feel it, all five of them. The ground underneath them, their solid foundation, was beginning to shift and erode away. They were going to have to face many dark and dangerous things to come, and they were going to have to be ready despite the fact that they were still children. And they were all scared of the storm that they and the rest of the world was going to have to face.


End file.
